Suppressing non-radiative relaxation in a NIR single photon emitter: the impact of deuteration and temperature

The fluorescence quantum yield of organic NIR-emitters is typically limited by internal conversion (IC), restricting their applications in imaging and quantum technology. Here, we study the impact of deuteration and temperature on the emission properties of dibenzoterrylene (DBT) by bulk and single molecule spectroscopy. Based on simple photophysical modelling, we first clarify how IC affects the single molecule emission rate. Next, we show that deuteration of DBT leads to a concomitant increase in the fluorescence lifetime and quantum yield by up to 60%. This clear deuterium isotope effect indicates a significant contribution of C-H-vibrations in the IC process. The solvent-dependent changes in the IC rate of hydrogenated and deuterated compounds were found to follow the predictions of the energy gap law in the weak coupling limit. This view is supported by the very weak temperature dependence of the IC rate between 5 and 300 K. Our results not only shed light on the non-radiative relaxation of a topical polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, but also pave the way for single molecule quantum emitters with high emission yields in the NIR.