Year: 2014
Type: article
Abstract: Blends of conjugated polymers and fullerene derivatives are prototype systems for organic photovoltaic devices. The primary charge-generation mechanism involves a light-induced ultrafast electron transfer from the light-absorbing and electron-donating polymer to the fullerene electron acceptor. Here, we elucidate the initial quantum dynamics of this process. Experimentally, we observed coherent vibrational motion of the fullerene moiety after impulsive optical excitation of the polymer donor. Comparison with first-principle theoretical simulations evidences coherent electron transfer between donor and acceptor and oscillations of the transferred charge with a 25-femtosecond period matching that of the observed vibrational modes. Our results show that coherent vibronic coupling between electronic and nuclear degrees of freedom is of key importance in triggering charge delocalization and transfer in a noncovalently bound reference system.
Source: Science
Institutions: Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Istituto Nanoscienze, National Research Council, University of Konstanz, Istituto di Fotonica e Nanotecnologie, Politecnico di Milano, Université Paris-Sud, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, University of the Basque Country, Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society, Material Physics Center, Donostia International Physics Center, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia
Language: English
Subfield: Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funders: American Bar Foundation, Impact Fund, World Bank Group, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Chicago, Institute for New Economic Thinking, Laserlab-Europe, European Commission, University College Dublin, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe AISBL, Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Istituto Nanoscienze, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Universität Konstanz, National Institutes of Health, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
OpenAlex ID: W2097804096