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Triplet-pair spin signatures from macroscopically aligned heteroacenes in an oriented single crystal.

Author
Abstract
:

The photo-driven process of singlet fission generates coupled triplet pairs (TT) with fundamentally intriguing and potentially useful properties. The quintet TT sublevel is particularly interesting for quantum information because it is highly entangled, is addressable with microwave pulses, and could be detected using optical techniques. Previous theoretical work on a model Hamiltonian and nonadiabatic transition theory, called the model, has determined that this sublevel can be selectively populated if certain conditions are met. Among the most challenging, the molecules within the dimer undergoing singlet fission must have their principal magnetic axes parallel to one another and to an applied Zeeman field. Here, we present time-resolved electron paramagnetic resonance (TR-EPR) spectroscopy of a single crystal sample of a tetracenethiophene compound featuring arrays of dimers aligned in this manner, which were mounted so that the orientation of the field relative to the molecular axes could be controlled. The observed spin sublevel populations in the paired TT and unpaired (T+T) triplets are consistent with predictions from the model, including preferential TT formation at ‖ B, with one caveat-two TT spin sublevels have little to no population. This may be due to crossings between the TT and TT manifolds in the field range investigated by TR-EPR, consistent with the intertriplet exchange energy determined by monitoring photoluminescence at varying magnetic fields.

Year of Publication
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2022
Journal
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume
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119
Issue
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29
Number of Pages
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e2201879119
Date Published
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2022
ISSN Number
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0027-8424
URL
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https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2201879119?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%3dpubmed
DOI
:
10.1073/pnas.2201879119
Short Title
:
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
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