Electrons’ speed key to photon upconversion

A better understanding of how electrons convert energy into photons could lead to designing more efficient solar cells or better phototherapies for cancer. Researchers looking into the process have figured out that the ease with which electrons can move through a material can make the material a more efficient converter ( J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2024, DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.3c03602 ). Under the right conditions, some molecules can supercharge light. After their electrons absorb a photon, they can take that energy and combine it with the energy of another similarly excited molecule, releasing a photon with twice as much energy as was in the original light. This so-called upconversion process can, for example, turn lower-energy infrared (IR) photons in sunlight into visible photons, which solar cells can convert into electricity . In the new study, researchers from the Molecular Photoscience Research Center at Kobe University looked at how molecules in a triplet