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Because of their unique photophysical properties, organic semiconductors have shown great promise in both light-emitting devices (LEDs) and photovoltaic systems. In particular, the question of spin statistics looms large in these applications: the relative energetics and rates of formation for singlet versus triplet excited states can have a significant impact on device efficiency. In this Article, we study the singlet and triplet charge-transfer (CT) configurations that can be thought of as the immediate precursors to the luminescent states in organic LEDs. In particular, we find that the CT singlet-triplet energy gap (deltaE(ST)) of organic dyes and oligomers depends sensitively on both the material and the relative orientation of the donor/acceptor pair. Furthermore, in contrast with the commonly held view, we find that the singlet CT states nearly always lie energetically below the triplet CT states (deltaE(ST) < 0). This trend is attributed to two physical sources. First, the relatively close contact between the donor and acceptor leads to a strong kinetic exchange component that favors the singlet. Second, Coulombic attraction between the separated charges favors inner-sphere reorganization that brings the donor and acceptor closer together, further enhancing the kinetic exchange effect. We discuss the implications of these results on the design of organic LEDs.
Difley et al. (Thu,) studied this question.