Molecular electrets – Why do dipoles matter for charge transfer and excited-state dynamics?

Abstract

For decades, the natural systems, and in particular photosynthesis, have provided the principal paradigms for solar-energy science and engineering. Charge transfer (CT) is at the core of life-sustaining biological processes, including the natural energy conversion and storage. Concurrently, nanoscale CT governs the performance of electronic and energy-conversion devices. Electric fields are invaluable for guiding charge movement. Therefore, as electrostatic analogues of magnets, electrets have unexplored potential for generating local electric fields for accelerating desired CT processes while suppressing undesired ones. This publication presents the design principles and the development of CT bioinspired molecular electrets, along with some of the synthetic challenges for obtaining the optimal motifs. We discuss these advances in the contexts of how dipoles affect CT and excited-state dynamics. The underlying complexity of dipole-induced effects reveals unexplored paradigms for CT science, as well as for electronic and optical engineering. The ubiquity of electric dipoles underlines the immense potentials that electrets have for electronics, photonics and energy-conversion.