Singlet Fission among Two Single Molecules

Singlet fission (SF) is a photophysical process where a singlet excitation generates two triplet excited states, enhancing exciton multiplication potentially useful for solar energy conversion. Since SF typically outcompetes radiative decay, single molecule studies of SF have remained elusive. Here, we present single molecule spectroscopy of a terrylenediimide (TDI) dimer at room and cryogenic temperatures. By analyzing the stream of photons emitted by single dimers, the rates of formation and decay of SF-born triplet states were determined. We report considerable static and dynamic heterogeneities of the SF process, which are reflected in broad rate distributions as well as the occasional occurrence of delayed fluorescence and rate fluctuations during spin evolution. Cryogenic experiments point to the formation of a coherent multiexciton superposition state that decays into the singlet exciton from which a correlated triplet pair evolves. Our results establish single molecule spectroscopy as a new avenue into mechanistic details of the SF process which often are drowned by ensemble averaging.