Collective excitation dynamics and polaron formation in molecular aggregates

Intramolecular charge transfer and the function of vibronic excitons in photosynthetic light harvesting

A widely discussed explanation for the prevalence of pairs or clusters of closely spaced electronic chromophores in photosynthetic light-harvesting proteins is the presence of ultrafast and highly directional excitation energy transfer pathways mediated by vibronic excitons, the delocalized optical excitations derived from mixing of the electronic and vibrational states of the chromophores. We discuss herein the hypothesis that internal conversion processes between exciton states on the <100 fs timescale are possible when the excitonic potential energy surfaces are controlled by the vibrational modes that induce charge transfer character in a strongly coupled system of chromophores. We discuss two examples, the peridinin-chlorophyll protein from marine dinoflagellates and the intact phycobilisome from cyanobacteria, in which the intramolecular charge-transfer (ICT) character arising from out-of-plane distortion of the conjugation of carotenoid or bilin chromophores also results in localization of the initially delocalized optical excitation on the vibrational timescale. Tuning of the ground state conformations of the chromophores to manipulate their ICT character provides a natural photoregulatory mechanism, which would control the overall quantum yield of excitation energy transfer by turning on and off the delocalized character of the optical excitations.

Two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy reveals liquid-like lineshape dynamics in CsPbI3 perovskite nanocrystals

Lead-halide perovskites have attracted tremendous attention, initially for their performance in thin film photovoltaics, and more recently for a variety of remarkable optical properties. Defect tolerance through polaron formation within the ionic lattice is a key aspect of these materials. Polaron formation arises from the dynamical coupling of atomic fluctuations to electronic states. Measuring the properties of these fluctuations is therefore essential in light of potential optoelectronic applications. Here we apply two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy (2DES) to probe the timescale and amplitude of the electronic gap correlations in CsPbI₃ perovskite nanocrystals via homogeneous lineshape dynamics. The 2DES data reveal irreversible, diffusive dynamics that are qualitatively inconsistent with the coherent dynamics in covalent solids such as CdSe quantum dots. In contrast, these dynamics are consistent with liquid-like structural dynamics on the 100 femtosecond timescale. These dynamics are assigned to the optical signature of polaron formation, the conceptual solid-state analogue of solvation.

Lead-halide perovskites have promising optoelectronic properties, determined by interplay of electronic and structural properties. Here the authors probe CsPbI₃ nanocrystals by two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy, showing liquid-like structural dynamics signature of polaron formation.

Protein Configuration Landscape Fluctuations Revealed by Exciton Transition Polarizations in Single Light Harvesting Complexes

Protein is a flexible material with broad distribution of conformations forming an energy landscape of quasi-stationary states. Disentangling the system dynamics along this landscape is the key for understanding the functioning of the protein. Here we studied a photosynthetic antenna pigment-protein complex LH2 with single molecule two-dimensional polarization imaging. Modeling based on the Redfield relaxation theory well describes the observed polarization properties of LH2 fluorescence and fluorescence excitation, strongly suggesting that at 77 K the conformational subspace of the LH2 is limited to about three configurations with relatively frequent switching among each other. At room temperature the next level of fluctuations determines the conformational dynamics. The results support the multitier model of the energy landscape of proteins and demonstrate the potential of the method for the studies of structural dynamics in proteins.

Fast delocalization leads to robust long-range excitonic transfer in a large quantum chlorosome model

Chlorosomes are efficient light-harvesting antennas containing up to hundreds of thousands of bacteriochlorophyll molecules. With massively parallel computer hardware, we use a nonperturbative stochastic Schrödinger equation, while including an atomistically derived spectral density, to study excitonic energy transfer in a realistically sized chlorosome model. We find that fast short-range delocalization leads to robust long-range transfer due to the antennae's concentric-roll structure. Additionally, we discover anomalous behavior arising from different initial conditions, and outline general considerations for simulating excitonic systems on the nanometer to micrometer scale.

Insights into excitons confined to nanoscale systems: electron-hole interaction, binding energy, and photodissociation

The characteristics of nanoscale excitons--the primary excited states of nanoscale systems like conjugated polymers, molecular aggregates, carbon nanotubes, and nanocrystalline quantum dots--are examined through exploration of model systems. On the basis of a valence bond-type model, an intuition is developed for understanding and comparing nanoscale systems. In particular, electron-hole interactions are examined in detail, showing how and why they affect spectroscopy and properties such as binding energy. The relationship between the bound exciton states and the nanoscale analogue of free carriers (charge-transfer exciton states) is developed. It is shown why the electron and hole act as independent particles in this manifold of states. The outlook for the field is discussed on the basis of the picture developed in the paper, with an emphasis on exciton binding and photodissociation.