Is the Chemical Strategy for imbuing ‘Polyene’ Character in Diketopyrrolopyrrole Based Chromophores sufficient for Singlet Fission?

In this work, we have rationally designed and synthesized a novel thiophene-diketopyrrolopyrrole (TDPP)-vinyl based dimer. We have investigated the optical and electronic properties and have probed the photophysical dynamics using transient absorption to investigate the possibility of singlet exciton fission. These revealed extremely rapid decay to the ground state (< 50 ps), which we confirm is due to intramolecular excitonic processes rather than large-scale conformational change enabled by the vinyl linker. In all cases the main excited state appears to be ‘dark’, suggesting rapid internal conversion into a dark 2Ag-type singlet state. We found no evidence of triplet formation in TDPP-V-TDPP under direct photo excitation. This may be a consequence of significant singlet stabilization in the dimer, bringing it below the energy needed to form two triplets. Our studies on this model compound set valuable lessons for design of novel triplet-forming materials, and highlight the need for more broadly applicable design principles.