Directional exciton transport in supramolecular nanostructured assemblies

Supramolecular nanostructured host-guest compounds provide an intriguing strategy for improved materials in optoelectronic devices. Here, conjugated organic guest molecules are embedded in channel-forming organic or inorganic hosts, like perhydrotriphenylene (PHTP) and zeolites, leading to weakly coupled, highly ordered, and brightly emissive materials. In-depth material characterization allows for a full understanding of the exciton transport mechanism in the weak coupling regime through steady-state time-resolved fluorescence studies combined with quantum-chemical based Monte-Carlo simulations without adjustable parameters. Despite weak chromophore coupling and dilution by the host, the exciton diffusion length exceeds 50 nm similar to molecular crystals, and might be tuned to the μm range by the proper choice of host and guest materials.