Unraveling structural dynamics in isoenergetic excited S1 and multi-excitonic 1(TT) states of 9,10-bis(phenylethynyl)anthracene (BPEA) in solution via ultrafast Raman loss spectroscopy.

Abstract

Polyacenes, such as anthracene, tetracene, pentacene etc., have been identified as potential candidates for singlet fission (SF) and triplet-triplet annihilation (TTA) processes in their crystalline and thin film forms as they possess significant singlet and triplet exciton couplings. Interestingly, phenyl-ethynyl substitution to anthracene at the 9,10 positions (9,10-bis(phenylethynyl)anthracene/BPEA) enhances the transverse π-electron conjugation and retains the planar structure even in the excited state. The excited singlet state S1 and the multi-excitonic state 1(TT) in BPEA are separated by ∼30 meV (∼250 cm-1) making it an ideal system for both SF and TTA applications. BPEA is very effective in photon up-conversion even for low input intensities. Transient absorption measurements of BPEA in n-hexane solution are inadequate for distinguishing the S1 state and the multi-excitonic state 1(TT), since the spectroscopic features are complex (mixed) due to the isoenergetic nature and the existence of an equilibrium between these states. However, ultrafast Raman loss spectroscopy reveals a systematic red shift and a blue shift in the central frequencies of the Raman modes corresponding to C[double bond, length as m-dash]C and C[triple bond, length as m-dash]C vibrational frequencies with time constants of ∼2.0 and ∼20 ps, respectively. Such a shift in the Raman frequencies is direct evidence of the structural changes that take place while changing from excited singlet state S1 to the multi-excitonic state on the potential surface.