The photophysical properties of polyaromatic hydrocarbons provide the basis for utilizing organic-based materials for applications in solar energy conversion and biosensing. The aim of this project is to develop a basic understanding of the photophysics of pentacene and pyrene in a variety of contexts that focus on solar energy conversion. In an agreed picture, light is absorbed to form an excited state. Several deactivation pathways exist each with a characteristic timescale: i) collisions with the lattice that results in heat formation (non- radiative decay (ps), ii) the release of energy through photons (fluorescence, ns), and iii) intersystem crossing to a triplet excited state (ps-ns). Depending on the environment surrounding the molecule, the crystallinity, and the interaction with free radicals, these pathways can be deconvoluted and controlled, which is the focus of the work presented here.

Photophysics of organic materials for solar harvesting and biosensing

244th National Meeting (2012)

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