Kinetic prediction of reverse intersystem crossing in organic donor-acceptor molecules

Reverse intersystem crossing (RISC), the uphill spin-flip process from a triplet to a singlet excited state, plays a key role in a wide range of photochemical applications. Understanding and predicting the kinetics of such processes in vastly different molecular structures would facilitate the rational material design. Here, we demonstrate a theoretical expression that successfully reproduces experimental RISC rate constants ranging over five orders of magnitude in twenty different molecules. We show that the spin flip occurs across the singlet-triplet crossing seam involving a higher-lying triplet excited state where the semi-classical Marcus parabola is no longer valid. The present model explains the counterintuitive substitution effects of bromine on the RISC rate constants of previously unknown molecules, providing a predictive tool for material design.