Femtosecond up-conversion technique for probing the charge transfer in a P3HT : PCBM blend via photoluminescence quenching

We report on an experimental study of the charge transfer dynamics in a P3HT : PCBM blend by means of a femtosecond fluorescence up-conversion technique. Using two-photon excitation we probe the exciton dynamics in P3HT and a P3HT : PCBM blend with a weight ratio of 1 : 1 at excitation densities of up to 6 × 1018 cm−3. In both samples we find strongly nonexponential decay traces compatible with (i) diffusion-limited exciton–exciton annihilation and (ii) diffusion-limited donor–acceptor charge transfer in the polymer blend. Additionally, our results indicate that in the P3HT : PCBM blend about 50% of the photogenerated excitons undergo a prompt charge transfer process on a time scale of about 150 fs. Our study shows that fluorescence spectroscopy with femtosecond time resolution is a powerful technique for probing ultrafast charge transfer processes in solar cell materials.