We present a study of optical and electronic properties of solutions and films based on the fungi-derived pigment xylindein, extracted from decaying wood and processed without and with a simple purification step (“ethanol wash”). The “post-wash” xylindein solutions exhibited considerably lower absorption in the ultraviolet spectral range and dramatically reduced photoluminescence below 600 nm, due to removal of contaminants most likely to be fungal secondary metabolites. The “post-wash” xylindein-based films were characterized by two orders of magnitude higher charge carrier mobilities as compared to “pre-wash” samples. This underlines the importance of minimizing contaminants that disrupt the conductive xylindein network in xylindein-based electronic devices.

Polarization-dependent absorption spectra of two functionalized derivatives of fluorinated anthradithiophene, diF TES-ADT and diF TDMS-ADT, were studied in the crystal phase using a Holstein-like Hamiltonian. For both molecules, the primary contribution to the lowest energy absorption was found to be the S0-S1 excitonic transition perturbed by an intermolecular coupling of 15 meV for both TES and TDMS. A secondary contribution, consistent with that from charge-transfer states, was also found. Additionally, absorption spectra were analysed when crystals were placed inside of optical microcavities formed by two metal mirrors. Cavities exhibited a primary absorption peak determined to be an enhanced absorption from the lowest-energy S0-S1 transition.

We present on the optical and electronic properties of a fungi-derived pigment xylindein for potential use in (opto)electronic applications. Optical absorption spectra in solutions of various concentrations and in film are compared and are consistent with aggregate formation in concentrated solutions and films. In order to improve film morphology obtained by solution deposition techniques, an amorphous polymer PMMA was introduced to xylindein to form xylindein:PMMA blends. Current-voltage characteristics and hole mobilities extracted from space-charge limited currents were found to be comparable between pristine xylindein and xylindein:PMMA films. Side by side comparison of the photoresponse of pristine xylindein and xylindein:PMMA films at 633 nm revealed an increase in the photosensitivity in xylindein:PMMA films due to the improved morphology favouring enhanced charge generation.

We present a study of photoinduced charge carrier dynamics in single crystals and polycrystalline thin films of a functionalized fluorinated anthradithiophene (ADT) derivative, ADT-TES-F, combining measurements of time-resolved photocurrent with computational modeling. Simulations revealed two competing charge generation pathways: ultrafast charge separation and nanosecond (ns) time-scale exciton dissociation. Single crystals exhibited significantly enhanced fast charge photogeneration and charge carrier mobilities, as well as lower charge trap densities and free hole-trapped electron recombination, as compared to thin films. At sub-ns time scales after photoexcitation, the light intensity dependence of the photocurrents obtained in single crystals was determined by the carrier density-dependent recombination. At longer time scales, and at lower intensities, taking into account carrier concentration-dependent mobility improved agreement between numerically simulated and experimentally measured photocurrent data.

We present a comparative study of optical absorption, photoluminescence (PL), and photoconductivity in bulk heterojunctions comprising a high performance functionalized anthradithiophene (ADT) derivative or the benchmark polymer P3HT as donor and functionalized pentacene (Pn) derivative or PCBM as acceptor. Of all D/A blends studied, the ADT/PCBM blend exhibited the highest charge photogeneration efficiencies under 532 nm excitation, leading to the highest amplitudes of time-resolved and continuous wave (cw) photocurrents. At nanosecond time scales after photoexcitation, both ADT-TES-F-based blends and the P3HT/Pn-TIPS-F8 blend exhibited photocurrents which were higher by a factor of 2-10, depending on the blend, than that in the P3HT/PCBM blend. However, cw photocurrents showed a different trend, with the ADT-TES-F/PCBM blend exhibiting only a factor of ∼2.5 higher photoresponse than that in the P3HT/PCBM blends, and the ADT-TES-F- and P3HT- based blends with Pn-TIPS-F8 showing a factor of ∼1.5-2.5 lower photoresponse than that in the P3HT/PCBM blend, due to other contributions, such as that of charge trap-limited transport, to cw photoresponse.

We present photoconductivity of high-performance functionalized pentacene and anthradithiophene thin films on time scales from picoseconds to many seconds after photoexcitation. The polycrystalline thin films were deposited from solution on glass substrates with patterned interdigitated aluminum electrodes. In studies of fast transient photoconductivity, the samples were excited with laser pulses of ~100 fs duration at a wavelength of 400 nm, and the photocurrent due to transport of photoexcited charge carriers was monitored using 50 GHz digital sampling oscilloscope. The photoconductivity at longer (milliseconds through seconds) time scales was investigated using continuous wave (cw) illumination and a source-delay-measure unit. Both experiments were performed under conditions of varied electric field strength, fluence and temperature. In all samples, we observed fast charge carrier photogeneration (<30 ps, limited by time resolution of our setup) followed by decay of the photocurrent over the period of 5-50 ns, depending on the material, due to charge trapping and recombination, linear dependence of the peak photoconductivity on the fluence and super-linear dependence of the peak photocurrent on the applied electric field.

We present comprehensive study of ultrafast charge carrier dynamics in a variety of organic molecular crystals. In all samples, we observed sub-picosecond charge photogeneration and band-like transport, characterized by (i) an increase in charge carrier mobility as the temperature decreases in a wide temperature range of at least 20 K – 300 K and (ii) mobility anisotropy in the a-b plane of the crystals. The temperature dependence of the decay dynamics of the transient photoconductivity reveals the presence of shallow trapping sites in herring-bone-type-structured crystals (such as pentacene (Pc), tetracene (Tc), and rubrene (Rub)), while such traps are apparently absent in “brick-wall”-type crystals (such as functionalized pentacene (FPc)). We also report on the measurements of the charge carrier mobility anisotropy in the a-b plane of two types of FPc single crystals. Anisotropies of approximately 3.5 and 11.6 were obtained in the crystals characterized by crystal structures favoring two-dimensional and one-dimensional charge transport, respectively, consistent with the degree of π-overlap along different directions in the crystals.