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Updated: May 5, 2026

Single-Molecule Förster Resonance Energy Transfer Methods for Real-Time Investigation of the Holliday Junction Resolution by GEN1
Published on: September 18, 2019
Singlet exciton fission in solution
Brian J Walker1, Andrew J Musser, David Beljonne
1Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, J. J. Thomson Avenue, Cambridge, UK.
Abstract:
Singlet exciton fission, the spin-conserving process that produces two triplet excited states from one photoexcited singlet state, is a means to circumvent the Shockley-Queisser limit in single-junction solar cells. Although the process through which singlet fission occurs is not well characterized, some local order is thought to be necessary for intermolecular coupling. Here, we report a triplet yield of 200% and triplet formation rates approaching the diffusion limit in solutions of bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl (TIPS)) pentacene. We observe a transient bound excimer intermediate, formed by the collision of one photoexcited and one ground-state TIPS-pentacene molecule. The intermediate breaks up when the two triplets separate to each TIPS-pentacene molecule. This efficient system is a model for future singlet-fission materials and for disordered device components that produce cascades of excited states from sunlight.
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