Vibrational Control in Organic Semiconductors

Organic semiconductors (OSCs) are carbon-based materials with great potential for photovoltaic (OPV) and light-emitting diode (OLED) applications.

This project will improve our understanding of how the vibrational motions of the constituent atoms and bond in OSCs control their optical and electronic properties.

To achieve this, I will develop new optical spectroscopy techniques that use ultrafast pulses of light and mid-infrared radiation to probe how vibrational modes interact with the electronic excited states in OSCs.

I will address two key issues with these new techniques: 1. the slow interconversion of spin-singlet and triplet excited states that reduces the performance of OLEDs; and 2. the low luminescence efficiencies of narrow band gap (<1.7 eV) OSC materials due to multiple phonon emission, which limits OPVs and near-infrared OLEDs.

I will collaborate with synthetic chemists to exploit our results by designing new OSC materials that intelligently harness the power of vibrational modes. These materials will then be used to fabricate devices with performance beyond the current state-of-the-art.

By improving the performance of OPVs and OLEDs, this project will enable the real-world applications of these green technologies. This includes clean electricity generation and energy efficient lighting and displays.

Thus, my research will contribute to improving the efficiency with which we generate and use electricity, helping reduce society’s reliance on fossil fuels.