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

• Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 2022-07, Vol.119 (29), p.1-10
• Main Authors: Rugg, Brandon K., Smyser, Kori E., Fluegel, Brian, Chang, Christopher H., Thorley, Karl J., Parkine, Sean, Anthony, John E., Eaves, Joel D., Johnson, Justin C.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: crystal; Crystal structure; Dimers; Electron paramagnetic resonance; Electron spin resonance; Fission; INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY; Magnetic fields; Optics; Photoluminescence; Photons; Physical Sciences; quantum information science; Quantum phenomena; Single crystals; singlet fission; Spectroscopy; spin polarization
• ISSN: 0027-8424; 1091-6490; 1091-6490
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2201879119

The photo-driven process of singlet fission generates coupled triplet pairs (TT) with fundamentally intriguing and potentially useful properties. The quintet ⁵TT₀ 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 JDE 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 JDE model, including preferential ⁵TT₀ formation at z ∥ B₀, with one caveat—two ⁵TT spin sublevels have little to no population. This may be due to crossings between the ⁵TT and ³TT manifolds in the field range investigated by TR-EPR, consistent with the intertriplet exchange energy determined by monitoring photoluminescence at varying magnetic fields.