What controls triplet exciton transfer in organic semiconductors?

Abstract

Dexter-type triplet transfer is a phenomenon that is ubiquitous in the field of molecular electronics, and that takes place at the interface of chemistry, physics and biology. It may be considered as a correlated transfer of two charges, and thus, models originally developed for charge transfer may be applied to describe triplet transfer. In dilute fluid solutions, triplet transfer from a donor to an acceptor is well-understood and it has been described in terms of Marcus theory, i.e. taking into account distortions in the molecule and its surroundings. In amorphous thin films, that are used for organic semiconductor applications, the effects of energetic disorder prevail, and they need to be considered for an appropriate description of triplet energy transfer. We present here an overview on recent experimental and theoretical work concerning a unified description of triplet energy transfer. © 2011 The Royal Society of Chemistry.