Interchromophoric Twist: Gateway to Long-Lived Excitons

Abstract

Structure-property-function relationships play a key role in governing physical properties in molecules and materials in the broader sense. Particularly in organic light-harvesting materials, the sensitivity is magnified as the vibronic and electronic energy landscapes are highly sensitive to the type and extent of quantum chemical communication between molecules. In this article, we select a particular geometric feature- the interchromophoric twist and discuss its implication on several fundamental photophysical properties in connection with our lab’s research interests. We highlight two important processes, singlet fission (SF) and symmetry- breaking charge separation (SB-CS). We narrate how the interchromophoric rotation angle can be a crucial tool in achieving an appropriate electronic coupling in each of the cases and help us utilize these processes to achieve long- lived excitons (triplets and unbound electron-hole pairs) for the design and development of efficient artificial solar energy systems.