Long-lived photoinduced polaron formation in conjugated polyelectrolyte-fullerene assemblies

• Autores: Rachel C. Huber, Amy S. Ferreira, Robert Thompson
• Localización: Science, ISSN 0036-8075, Vol. 348, Nº 6241, 2015, págs. 1340-1343
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • The efficiency of biological photosynthesis results from the exquisite organization of photoactive elements that promote rapid movement of charge carriers out of a critical recombination range. If synthetic organic photovoltaic materials could mimic this assembly, charge separation and collection could be markedly enhanced. We show that micelle-forming cationic semiconducting polymers can coassemble in water with cationic fullerene derivatives to create photoinduced electron-transfer cascades that lead to exceptionally long-lived polarons. The stability of the polarons depends on the organization of the polymer-fullerene assembly. Properly designed assemblies can produce separated polaronic charges that are stable for days or weeks in aqueous solution.