Abstract
Exciton-polaritons are hybrid light-matter states resulting from strong exciton-photon coupling. The wave function of the polariton is a mixture of light and matter, enabling long-range energy transfer between spatially separated chromophores. Moreover, their delocalized nature, inherited from the photon component, has been predicted to enhance exciton transport. Here, we strongly couple an organic heterojunction consisting of energy/electron donor and acceptor materials to the same cavity mode. Using time-resolved spectroscopy and optoelectrical characterization, we show that the rate of exciton harvesting is enhanced with one order of magnitude and the rate of energy transfer in the system is increased two- to threefold in the strong coupling regime. Our results exemplify two means of efficiently channeling excitation energy to a heterojunction interface, where charge separation can occur. This study opens a new door to increase the overall efficiency of light harvesting systems using the tool of strong light-matter interactions.
Highlights
Exciton-polaritons are hybrid light-matter states resulting from strong exciton-photon coupling
We demonstrate that the excitation energy is efficiently channeled to the HJ interface when both the donor and acceptor molecules are strongly coupled to the same cavity mode
The scope of the processes described could be viewed from the field of organic photovoltaics, in which the physical blending of donor and acceptor molecules are used to decrease distances and increase the yield of exciton harvesting
Summary
Exciton-polaritons are hybrid light-matter states resulting from strong exciton-photon coupling. The wave function of the polariton is a mixture of light and matter, enabling long-range energy transfer between spatially separated chromophores Their delocalized nature, inherited from the photon component, has been predicted to enhance exciton transport. The experimentally observed effect is modest, but simulations have shown that a long-range energy transfer mechanism would result in an efficient harvesting of excitation energy[17]. This would allow the construction of an efficient OPV with a simple layered structure. Organic polaritons can increase the overall efficiency of exciton harvesting in planar HJs in two different ways, by their delocalized nature and by long-range energy transfer, potentially enabling efficient OPVs from simple planar HJ structures. The results provide a new window to enhance the overall efficiency in light harvesting systems using strong lightmatter coupling
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