Radical catalysed singlet fission

Objective

Singlet fission (SF) is a process in which two triplet excited states are generated from one singlet excited state. SF can be used to increase current in solar cells, reducing losses from thermalisation and boosting solar cell efficiency, but poor triplet yields and short lifetimes limit the implementation of SF in devices. Stable organic radicals are an emerging class of materials that exhibit excited doublet states rather than singlet and triplet, allowing them to mediate otherwise spin-forbidden process. RADCAT will explore new frontiers of SF by unlocking energy transfer mechanisms that enable organic radicals to catalyse a step-wise SF process. As well as providing a new path to long-lived triplet excitons that can be used to increase the efficiency of solar cells, RADCAT will investigate the magnetic field sensitivity of these energy transfer processes, and thus design new magnetic field sensors for applications in quantum information science and photonics. The action combines the fellow’s previous research in SF and photophysics with the expertise of the host group in organic radicals and spin chemistry, and will enhance the fellows career by building new skills in spin and magneto-optical effects.