Quantitative intramolecular fission in oligoacenes, materials, and methods of use thereof

US10752730B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignees

• The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York · US
• Bookhaven Science Associates, LLC · US

Inventors

• Luis M. Campos · Brooklyn, US
• Matthew Y. Sfeir · Levittown, US
• Samuel N. Sanders · Cambridge, US
• Elango Kumarasamy · New York, US
• Andrew Pun · New York, US
• Michael L. Steigerwald · Bound Brook, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Dec 17, 2015
• Grant date: Aug 25, 2020
• Expiry date: Feb 12, 2036

Classification

• Technology area (CPC Y): Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
• CPC primary: Y02E10/549
• WIPO field: Organic fine chemistry
• WIPO sector: Chemistry

Abstract

The present invention provides soluble, stable singlet fission (SF) compounds, compositions, materials, methods of their use, and methods for their preparation that provide efficient intramolecular singlet fission (iSF) and multiple excitons. The SF compound may be a dimer, an oligomer, or a polymer of polyoligoacenes, where for example, the compound achieves a triplet yield reaching about 200% per absorbed photon. In this system, SF does not depend on intermolecular inter-actions. Instead, SF is an intrinsic property of the molecule and therefore occurs independent of intermolecular interactions. Singlet fission has the potential to significantly improve the photocurrent in single junction solar cells and thus raise the Shockley-Queisser power conversion efficiency limit from about 33% to about 46% or greater. Quantitative SF yield at room temperature has only been observed in crystalline solids or aggregates of higher acenes.