Polariton Decay in Donor–Acceptor Cavity Systems

Enhanced delocalization is beneficial for absorbing molecules in organic solar cells, and in particular bilayer devices, where excitons face small diffusion lengths as a barrier to reaching the charge-generating donor-acceptor interface. As hybrid light-matter states, polaritons offer exceptional delocalization which could be used to improve the efficiency of bilayer organic photovoltaics. Polariton delocalization can aid in delivering excitons to the donor-acceptor interface, but the subsequent charge transfer event must compete with the fast decay of the polariton. To evaluate the viability of polaritons as tools to improve bilayer organic solar cells, we studied the decay of the lower polariton in three cavity systems: a donor only, a donor-acceptor bilayer, and a donor-acceptor blend. Using several spectroscopic techniques, we identified an additional decay pathway through charge transfer for the polariton in the bilayer cavity, demonstrating charge transfer from the polariton is fast enough to outcompete the decay to the ground state.