Charge Recombination Suppressed by Destructive Quantum Interference in Heterojunction Materials

We show that charge recombination in ordered heterojunctions depends sensitively on the degree of coherent delocalization of charges at the donor–acceptor interface. Depending on the relative sign of the electron and hole transfer integrals, such delocalization can dramatically suppress recombinatio...

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Published inThe journal of physical chemistry letters Vol. 7; no. 1; pp. 198 - 203
Main Authors Tempelaar, Roel, Koster, L. Jan Anton, Havenith, Remco W. A, Knoester, Jasper, Jansen, Thomas L. C
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States American Chemical Society 07.01.2016
Subjects
quantum coherence
Langevin theory
bimolecular recombination
organic photovoltaics
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Summary:We show that charge recombination in ordered heterojunctions depends sensitively on the degree of coherent delocalization of charges at the donor–acceptor interface. Depending on the relative sign of the electron and hole transfer integrals, such delocalization can dramatically suppress recombination through destructive quantum interference. This could explain why measured recombination rates are significantly lower than predictions based on Langevin theory for a variety of organic bulk heterojunctions. Moreover, it opens up a design strategy for photovoltaic devices with enhanced efficiencies through coherently suppressed charge recombination.
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ISSN:1948-7185
1948-7185
DOI:10.1021/acs.jpclett.5b02580