Investigating the Relationship Between Molecular Relaxation and Exciton Diffusion in Organic Semiconductor Materials

Under the joint support of the Solid State and Materials Chemistry Program and the Electronic and Photonic Materials Program, Prof. Holmes and Prof. Blank of the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities investigate how excited state relaxation processes impact the rate of excitonic energy transfer and diffusion in organic semiconductors. This work is directed at better understanding the complex relationship between the molecular excited state dynamics and the observed exciton diffusion length (LD) and aims to provide design principles required for a substantial enhancement of LD in materials and devices such as organic photovoltaics.

The proposed work has potential impact in the design of excitonic organic devices, including improvements in the efficiency of both light emission and conversion of sunlight to electricity, which has a direct impact on the critical issues of energy conversion and consumption. This project also provides interdisciplinary research opportunities for graduate, undergraduate and high school students.