Interfacial Charge Transfer States in Condensed Phase Systems

Intermolecular charge transfer (CT) states at the interface between electron-donating (D) and electron-accepting (A) materials in organic thin films are characterized by absorption and emission bands within the optical gap of the interfacing materials. CT states efficiently generate charge carriers for some D–A combinations, and others show high fluorescence quantum efficiencies. These properties are exploited in organic solar cells, photodetectors, and light-emitting diodes. This review summarizes experimental and theoretical work on the electronic structure and interfacial energy landscape at condensed matter D–A interfaces. Recent findings on photogeneration and recombination of free charge carriers via CT states are discussed, and relations between CT state properties and optoelectronic device parameters are clarified.