Time-resolved electron paramagnetic resonance of photoinduced ion pairs in blends of polythiophene and fullerene derivatives

Substituted polythiophene and triethylenglycolpyrrolidino-C60 blends are examined by time-resolved electron paramagnetic resonance (TR-EPR) at different temperatures. TR-EPR spectra recorded on the microsecond time scale after a short laser pulse are assigned to polythiophene and fullerene radical ion pairs, generated by electron transfer from the excited state of polythiophene to fullerene. At low temperatures, TR-EPR spectra show polarized lines with an antiphase emission/absorption pattern. The origin of the polarization pattern is described in the frame of spin correlated radical pair theory, in which two unpaired electron spins (on radical cation and anion, respectively) interact through isotropic spin exchange and anisotropic dipolar interactions. The polarization pattern is accounted for assuming a singlet excited state as the precursor of the chargeseparated state. Spectral simulations yield dipolar and spin exchange coupling constants between unpaired electrons of the radical ion pair. Their values correspond to a mean distance between opposite charges of 22 Å. When the temperature is increased, the spectra gradually loose their antiphase character and eventually consist of a signal totally in emission. This behavior is explained by a polarization mechanism involving a spin-selective charge recombination (ST-1 mixing). The polarization pattern at different temperatures is examined in detail, and its generating mechanism is discussed.