Photodegradation reveals that singlet energy transfer impedes energy-gradient-driven singlet fission in polyacene blends

Singlet fission (SF) is a process that is potentially beneficial for photovoltaics by producing two triplet excitons from a single photon, but its application is often hindered by the inability to effectively separate the resultant triplet excitons. It has been proposed that an energy gradient can assist in separating triplet excitons through triplet energy transfer between chromophores of different triplet energies, but this approach has only been studied in solution and the efficacy of this strategy in the solid state is under explored. Here, we investigate energy-gradient-driven SF in a disordered solid state, in the form of suspensions of 5,12-bis(triisopropylsilylethnyl)tetracene:6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethnyl)pentance (TIPS-Tn:TIPS-Pn) blend nanoparticles (NPs). Rather than using more conventional techniques such as ultrafast (sub-nanosecond) spectroscopy, we study the photophysics in these NPs through monitoring their photodegradation. TIPS-Tn photodegrades rapidly in neat NPs, but this photodegradation is suppressed upon the addition of TIPS-Pn, indicating a decrease in the TIPS-Tn triplet population. By modeling the photodegradation over a timescale of minutes to hours, we are able to reveal details of processes on the ultrafast timescale. We show that triplet energy transfer occurs from TIPS-Tn to TIPS-Pn, leading to slower photodegradation for TIPS-Tn, and faster photodegradation for TIPS-Pn. However, modeling additionally indicates that singlet energy transfer from TIPS-Tn to TIPS-Pn also occurs, and in fact acts to reduce the efficiency of TIPS-Tn SF. Hence, in this particular system, the energy gradient impedes SF, rather than assisting it. These findings indicate that chromophore pairs must be carefully selected to switch off singlet energy transfer for the energy-gradient approach to be effective in enhancing SF.