Triplet Energy Transfer Governs the Dissociation of the Correlated Triplet Pair in Exothermic Singlet Fission

Abstract

Singlet fission is a spin-allowed process of exciton multiplication that has the potential to enhance the efficiency of photovoltaic devices. The majority of studies to date have emphasized understanding the first step of singlet fission, where the correlated triplet pair is produced. Here, we examine separation of correlated triplet pairs. We conducted temperature-dependent transient absorption on 6,3-bis­(tri<i>iso</i>propylsilylethynyl)­pentacene (TIPS-Pn) films, where singlet fission is exothermic. We evaluated time constants to show that their temperature dependence is inconsistent with an exclusively thermally activated process. Instead, we found that the trends can be modeled by a triplet–triplet energy transfer. The fitted reorganization energy and electronic coupling agree closely with values calculated using density matrix renormalization group quantum-chemical theory. We conclude that dissociation of the correlated triplet pair to separated (but spin-entangled) triplet excitons in TIPS-Pn occurs by triplet–triplet energy transfer with a hopping time constant of approximately 3.5 ps at room temperature