Electronic structure disorder, vibronic coupling, and charge transfer excitons in poly(fluorene-alt-bithiophene):fullerene films

Charge transfer processes in conjugated polymer:fullerene blends play an important role in the operation of organic solar cells and organic light emitting diodes. Herein, near-infrared emission from poly-(9,9-dioctylfluorene-alt-bithiophene) (F8T2) and [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester blends was studied and attributed to charge transfer exciton (CTX) recombination. Polymer and CTX emission were monitored via low-temperature/transient photoluminescence and absorbance to elucidate the effects of annealing and composition on donor-acceptor morphology. CTX emission decreased and F8T2 vibronic structure was partially restored due to lower fullerene dispersion and polymer realignment upon annealing. Differences in the temperature-dependent emissions of the polymer singlet vs. CTX were attributed to exciton diffusion in the polymer phase vs. enhanced quenching at the donor-acceptor interface, respectively.