Isotope effect in spin response of pi-conjugated polymer films and devices

Noncentrosymmetric Triangular Magnet CaMnTeO6: Strong Quantum Fluctuations and Role of s0 versus s2 Electronic States in Competing Exchange Interactions

Noncentrosymmetric triangular magnets offer a unique platform for realizing strong quantum fluctuations. However, designing these quantum materials remains an open challenge attributable to a knowledge gap in the tunability of competing exchange interactions at the atomic level. Here, a new noncentrosymmetric triangular S = 3/2 magnet CaMnTeO6 is created based on careful chemical and physical considerations. The model material displays competing magnetic interactions and features nonlinear optical responses with the capability of generating coherent photons. The incommensurate magnetic ground state of CaMnTeO6 with an unusually large spin rotation angle of 127°(1) indicates that the anisotropic interlayer exchange is strong and competing with the isotropic interlayer Heisenberg interaction. The moment of 1.39(1) µB, extracted from low-temperature heat capacity and neutron diffraction measurements, is only 46% of the expected value of the static moment 3 µB. This reduction indicates the presence of strong quantum fluctuations in the half-integer spin S = 3/2 CaMnTeO6 magnet, which is rare. By comparing the spin-polarized band structure, chemical bonding, and physical properties of AMnTeO6 (A = Ca, Sr, Pb), how quantum-chemical interpretation can illuminate insights into the fundamentals of magnetic exchange interactions, providing a powerful tool for modulating spin dynamics with atomically precise control is demonstrated.

Emerging Spintronic Materials and Functionalities

The explosive growth of the information era has put forward urgent requirements for ultrahigh-speed and extremely efficient computations. In direct contrary to charge-based computations, spintronics aims to use spins as information carriers for data storage, transmission, and decoding, to help fully realize electronic device miniaturization and high integration for next-generation computing technologies. Currently, many novel spintronic materials have been developed with unique properties and multifunctionalities, including organic semiconductors (OSCs), organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites (OIHPs), and 2D materials (2DMs). These materials are useful to fulfill the demand for developing diverse and advanced spintronic devices. Herein, these promising materials are systematically reviewed for advanced spintronic applications. Due to the distinct chemical and physical structures of OSCs, OIHPs, and 2DMs, their spintronic properties (spin transport and spin manipulation) are discussed separately. In addition, some multifunctionalities due to photoelectric and chiral-induced spin selectivity (CISS) are overviewed, including the spin-filter effect, spin-photovoltaics, spin-light emitting devices, and spin-transistor functions. Subsequently, challenges and future perspectives of using these multifunctional materials for the development of advanced spintronics are presented.

Structural Isomeric Effect on Spin Transport in Molecular Semiconductors

Molecular semiconductor (MSC) is a promising candidate for spintronic applications benefiting from its long spin lifetime caused by light elemental-composition essence and thus weak spin-orbit coupling (SOC). According to current knowledge, the SOC effect, normally dominated by the elemental composition, is the main spin-relaxation causation in MSCs, and thus the molecular structure-induced SOC change is one of the most concerned issues. In theoretical study, molecular isomerism, a most prototype phenomenon, has long been considered to possess little difference on spin transport previously, since elemental compositions of isomers are totally the same. However, here in this study, quite different spin-transport performances are demonstrated in ITIC and its structural isomers BDTIC experimentally, for the first time, though the charge transport and molecular stacking of the two films are very similar. By further experiments of electron-paramagnetic resonance and density-functional-theory calculations, it is revealed that noncovalent-conformational locks (NCLs) formed in BDTIC can lead to enhancement of SOC and thus decrease the spin lifetime. Hence, this study suggests the influences from the structural-isomeric effect must be considered for developing highly efficient spin-transport MSCs, which also provides a reliable theoretical basis for solving the great challenge of quantificational measurement of NCLs in films in the future.

Energy level measurement for organic semiconductors

Along with the miniaturization and versatility of organic optoelectronic devices, it is desired to achieve a profound comprehension of the charge transport mechanism and even the basic device physics. The basis of these studies is the acquisition of relevant information about energy levels. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of five commonly-used techniques, including cyclic voltammetry, ultraviolet electron spectroscopy, inverse photoemission electron spectroscopy, low energy inverse photoemission spectroscopy and hot electron spectroscopy. According to the advantages and disadvantages, working mechanism, and application conditions, researchers will screen out a reliable and suitable characterization method, quickly and accurately. This should be beneficial for the efficient promotion of organic electronics and save valuable time for the related research studies.

The In Situ Optimization of Spinterface in Polymer Spin Valve by Electronic Phase Separated Oxides

Tailoring the interface between organic semiconductor (OSC) and ferromagnetic (FM) electrodes, that is, the spinterface, offers a promising way to manipulate and optimize the magnetoresistance (MR) ratio of the organic spin valve (OSV) devices. However, the non-destructive in situ regulation method of spinterface is seldom reported, limiting its theoretical research and further application in organic spintronics. (La2/3 Pr1/3 )5/8 Ca3/8 MnO3 (LPCMO), a recently developed FM material, exhibits a strong electronic phase separation (EPS) property, and can be employed as an effective in situ spinterface adjuster. Herein, we fabricated a LPCMO-based polymer spin valve with a vertical configuration of LPCMO/poly(3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT)/Co, and emphasized the important role of LPCMO/P3HT spinterface in MR regulation. A unique competitive spin-scattering mechanism generated by the EPS characteristics of LPCMO inside the polymer spin valve was discovered by abstracting the anomalous non-monotonic MR value as a function of pre-set magnetic field (Bpre ) and temperature (T). Particularly, a record-high MR ratio of 93% was achieved in polymer spin valves under optimal conditions. These findings highlight the importance of interdisciplinary research between organic spintronics and EPS oxides and offer a novel scenario for multi-level storage via spinterface manipulation.

Degradation Analysis of Organic Light-Emitting Diodes through Dispersive Magneto-Electroluminescence Response

Understanding the stability and degradation of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) under working conditions is a significant area of research for developing more effective OLEDs and further improving their performance. However, studies of degradation processes by in situ noninvasive methods have not been adequately developed. In this work, tris-(8-hydroxyquinolino) aluminum (Alq3)-based OLED degradation processes have been analyzed through the investigation of the device dispersive magneto-electroluminescence (MEL(B)) response measured at room temperature. By studying the change in the MEL(B) response during the device degradation under different external stimuli, such as exposing the device to the atmosphere and prolonged illumination by a strong visible light source, we have gained insight into the microscopic spin-dependent phenomena that control the recombination of e-h polaron pairs in the device. We found that the device degradation leads to a shorter e-h polaron lifetime, smaller dispersive parameter, and broader lifetime distribution function that shows increased disorder in the active layer. This study could offer a potential tool that may be beneficial for assessing the degradation of OLED devices based on various active layers.

Recent Progress of Organic Semiconductor Materials in Spintronics

Spintronics, a new discipline focusing on the spin-dependent transport process of electrons, has been developing rapidly. Spin valves are the most significant carriers of spintronics utilizing the spin freedom of electrons. It is expected to pierce "Moore's Law" and become the core component in processors of the next generation. Organic semiconductors advance in their adjustable band gap, weak spin-orbit coupling and hyperfine interaction, excellent film-forming property, having enormous promise for spin valves. Here, the principle of spin valves is introduced, and the history and progress in organic spin injection and transport materials are summarized. Then we analyze the influence of spinterface on device performance and introduce reliable methods of constructing organic spin valves. Finally, the challenges for spin valves are discussed, and the future is proposed. We aim to draw the attention of researchers to organic spin valves and promote further research in spintronics through this paper.

Synthesis of β-Deuterated Amino Acids via Palladium-Catalyzed H/D Exchange

Despite several synthetic approaches that have been developed for α-deuterated amino acids, the synthesis of β-deuterated amino acids has remained a challenge. Herein, we disclose a palladium catalyzed H/D exchange protocol for a β-deuterated N-protected amino amide, which can be converted to a β-deuterated amino acid simply by removal of protecting groups. This protocol is highly efficient, simply manipulated, and appliable for deuterium-labeling of many amino amides. In addition, deuterium labeling of phenylalanine derivatives was also successful when pivalic acid served as an additive to promote the H/D exchange process.

Site-selective deuteration at the α-position of enals by an amine and bis(phenylsulfonyl)methane co-catalyzed H/D exchange reaction

An amine and bis(phenylsulfonyl)methane co-catalyzed hydrogen-deuterium exchange (HDE) method via a Michael-retro-Michael pathway for site-selective introduction of deuterium at the α-position of enals using D₂O as a deuterium source has been achieved. The mild, operationally simple protocol allows for high yielding and high level deuterium incorporation (up to 99%) for structurally diverse aromatic-derived enals and dienals.

Molecular Compounds in Spintronic Devices: An Intricate Marriage of Chemistry and Physics

Spintronics, a flourishing new field of microelectronics, uses the electron spin for reading and writing information in modern computers and other spintronic devices with a low power consumption and high reliability. In a quest to increase the productivity of such devices, the use of molecular materials as a spacer layer allowed them to perform equally well or even better than conventional all-inorganic heterostructures from metals, alloys, or inorganic semiconductors. In this review, we survey various classes of chemical compounds that have already been tested for this purpose─from organic compounds and coordination complexes to organic-inorganic hybrid materials─since the creation of the first molecule-based spintronic device in 2002. Although each class has its advantages, drawbacks, and applications in molecular spintronics, together they allowed nonchemists to gain insights into spin-related effects and to propose new concepts in the design and fabrication of highly efficient spintronic devices. Other molecular compounds that chemistry could offer in great numbers may soon emerge as suitable spacers or even electrodes in flexible magnetic field sensors, nonvolatile memories, and multifunctional spintronic devices.

Singlet and triplet to doublet energy transfer: improving organic light-emitting diodes with radicals

Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) must be engineered to circumvent the efficiency limit imposed by the 3:1 ratio of triplet to singlet exciton formation following electron-hole capture. Here we show the spin nature of luminescent radicals such as TTM-3PCz allows direct energy harvesting from both singlet and triplet excitons through energy transfer, with subsequent rapid and efficient light emission from the doublet excitons. This is demonstrated with a model Thermally-Activated Delayed Fluorescence (TADF) organic semiconductor, 4CzIPN, where reverse intersystem crossing from triplets is characteristically slow (50% emission by 1 µs). The radical:TADF combination shows much faster emission via the doublet channel (80% emission by 100 ns) than the comparable TADF-only system, and sustains higher electroluminescent efficiency with increasing current density than a radical-only device. By unlocking energy transfer channels between singlet, triplet and doublet excitons, further technology opportunities are enabled for optoelectronics using organic radicals.

Organic light-emitting diodes must be engineered to circumvent efficiency limits imposed by the ratio of triplet to singlet exciton formation, following electron-hole capture. Here, authors unlock energy transfer channels between singlet, triplet and doublet excitons using thermally activated delayed fluorescence and radical emitters towards more efficient light-emitting devices.

Resolving the Spatial Variation and Correlation of Hyperfine Spin Properties in Organic Light-Emitting Diodes

Devices that exploit the quantum properties of materials are widespread, with quantum information processors and quantum sensors showing significant progress. Organic materials offer interesting opportunities for quantum technologies owing to their engineerable spin properties, with spintronic operation and spin resonance magnetic-field sensing demonstrated in research grade devices, as well as proven compatibility with large-scale fabrication techniques. Yet several important challenges remain as moving toward scaling these proof-of-principle quantum devices to larger integrated logic systems or spatially smaller sensing elements, particularly those associated with the variation of quantum properties both within and between devices. Here, spatially resolved magnetoluminescence is used to provide the first 2D map of a hyperfine spin property-the Overhauser field-in traditional organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). Intra-device variabilities are found to exceed ≈30% while spatially correlated behavior is exhibited on lengths beyond 7 µm, similar in size to pixels in state-of-the-art active-matrix OLED arrays, which has implications for the reproducibility and integration of organic quantum devices.

Simulation and Theory of Classical Spin Hopping on a Lattice

The behavior of spin for incoherently hopping carriers is critical to understand in a variety of systems such as organic semiconductors, amorphous semiconductors, and muon-implanted materials. This work specifically examined the spin relaxation of hopping spin/charge carriers through a cubic lattice in the presence of varying degrees of energy disorder when the carrier spin is treated classically and random spin rotations are suffered during the hopping process (to mimic spin–orbit coupling effects) instead of during the wait time period (which would be more appropriate for hyperfine coupling). The problem was studied under a variety of different assumptions regarding the hopping rates and the random local fields. In some cases, analytic solutions for the spin relaxation rate were obtained. In all the models, we found that exponentially distributed energy disorder led to a drastic reduction in spin polarization losses that fell nonexponentially.

Nuclear Spin Dynamics, Noise, Squeezing, and Entanglement in Box Model

We obtain a compact analytical solution for the nonlinear equation for the nuclear spin dynamics in the central spin box model in the limit of many nuclear spins. The total nuclear spin component along the external magnetic field is conserved and the two perpendicular components precess or oscillate depending on the electron spin polarization, with the frequency, determined by the nuclear spin polarization. As applications of our solution, we calculate the nuclear spin noise spectrum and describe the effects of nuclear spin squeezing and many body entanglement in the absence of a system excitation.

Base-Catalyzed H/D Exchange Reaction of Difluoromethylarenes

The budding deuteriodifluoromethyl group (CF₂D) is a potentially significant functional group in medicinal chemistry. Herein, we investigated t-BuOK-catalyzed H/D exchange reaction of difluoromethylarenes in DMSO-d₆ solution. The method provides excellent deuterium incorporation at the difluoromethyl group. Meanwhile, the effect of a trace amount of D₂O in DMSO-d₆ solution on the deuteration reaction was also investigated.

Floquet spin states in OLEDs

Electron and hole spins in organic light-emitting diodes constitute prototypical two-level systems for the exploration of the ultrastrong-drive regime of light-matter interactions. Floquet solutions to the time-dependent Hamiltonian of pairs of electron and hole spins reveal that, under non-perturbative resonant drive, when spin-Rabi frequencies become comparable to the Larmor frequencies, hybrid light-matter states emerge that enable dipole-forbidden multi-quantum transitions at integer and fractional g-factors. To probe these phenomena experimentally, we develop an electrically detected magnetic-resonance experiment supporting oscillating driving fields comparable in amplitude to the static field defining the Zeeman splitting; and an organic semiconductor characterized by minimal local hyperfine fields allowing the non-perturbative light-matter interactions to be resolved. The experimental confirmation of the predicted Floquet states under strong-drive conditions demonstrates the presence of hybrid light-matter spin excitations at room temperature. These dressed states are insensitive to power broadening, display Bloch-Siegert-like shifts, and are suggestive of long spin coherence times, implying potential applicability for quantum sensing.

Identification of synthesisable crystalline phases of water – a prototype for the challenges of computational materials design

We discuss the identification of experimentally realisable crystalline phases of water to outline and contextualise some of the diverse building blocks of a computational materials design process.

Isotope Effect in the Magneto-Optoelectronic Response of Organic Light-Emitting Diodes Based on Donor-Acceptor Exciplexes

The isotope effect is studied in the magneto-electroluminescence (MEL) and pulsed electrically detected magnetic resonance of organic light-emitting diodes based on thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) from donor-acceptor exciplexes that are either protonated (H) or deuterated (D). It is found that at ambient temperature, the exchange of H to D has no effect on the spin-dependent current and MEL responses in the devices. However, at cryogenic temperatures, where the reverse intersystem crossing (RISC) from triplet to singlet exciplex diminishes, a pronounced isotope effect is observed. These results show that the RISC process is not governed by the hyperfine interaction as thought previously, but proceeds through spin-mixing in the triplet exciplex. The observations are corroborated by electrically detected transient spin nutation experiments that show relatively long dephasing time at ambient temperature, and interpreted in the context of a model that involves exchange and hyperfine interactions in the spin triplet exciplex. These findings deepen the understanding of the RISC process in TADF materials.

The Application of Organic Semiconductor Materials in Spintronics

π-Conjugated semiconductors, primarily composed of elements with low atomic number, are regarded as promising spin-transport materials due to the weak spin-orbit coupling interaction and hence long spin relaxation time. Moreover, a large number of additional functions of organic semiconductors (OSCs), such as the abundant photo-electric properties, flexibility, and tailorability, endow the organic spintronic devices more unique properties and functionalities. Particularly, the integration of the photo-electric functionality and excellent spin transport property of OSCs in a single spintronic device has even shown great potential for the realization of spin manipulation in OSCs. In this review, the application of OSCs in spintronic study will be succinctly discussed. As the most important and extensive application, the long-distance spin transport property of OSCs will be discussed first. Subsequently, several multifunctional spintronic devices based on OSCs will be summarized. After that, the organic-based magnets used for the electrodes of spintronic devices will be introduced. Finally, according to the latest progress, spin manipulation in OSCs via novel spintronic devices together with other prospects and challenges will be outlined.

Fitting the magnetoresponses of the OLED using polaron pair model to obtain spin-pair dynamics and local hyperfine fields

Organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays a sign reversal magnetic field effect (MFE) when the applied magnetic field range is reduced to the sub-milliTesla range and the Polaron Pair Model has been successful in explaining the ultra-small MFE. Here, we obtained high resolution (~ 1 µT) magnetoconductance (MC) and magnetoelectroluminescence (MEL) of a tris-(8-hydroxyquinoline)aluminium-based (Alq3) OLED within the magnetic field range of ± 500 µT with the earth magnetic field components cancelled. A clear "W" shaped MC with a dip position of ± 250 µT and a monotonic MEL were observed. We demonstrate a fitting technique using the polaron pair model to the experimentally obtained MC and MEL. The fitting process extracts physically significant parameters within a working OLED: the local hyperfine fields for electron and hole in Alq3: Bhf1 = (0.63 ± 0.01) mT (electron), Bhf2 = (0.24 ± 0.01) mT (hole); the separation rates for singlet and triplet polaron pairs: kS,s = (44.59 ± 0.01) MHz, kT,s = (43.97 ± 0.01) MHz, and the recombination rate for singlet polaron pair kS,r = (88 ± 6) MHz. The yielded parameters are highly reproducible across different OLEDs and are in broad agreement with density functional theory (DFT) calculations and reported experimental observations. This demonstrates the feasibility of this fitting technique to approach any working OLED for obtaining significant microscopic parameters.

Electrocatalytic Deuteration of Halides with D2 O as the Deuterium Source over a Copper Nanowire Arrays Cathode

Precise deuterium incorporation with controllable deuterated sites is extremely desirable. Here, a facile and efficient electrocatalytic deuterodehalogenation of halides using D₂ O as the deuteration reagent and copper nanowire arrays (Cu NWAs) electrochemically formed in situ as the cathode was demonstrated. A cross-coupling of carbon and deuterium free radicals might be involved for this ipso-selective deuteration. This method exhibited excellent chemoselectivity and high compatibility with the easily reducible functional groups (C=C, C≡C, C=O, C=N, C≡N). The C-H to C-D transformations were achieved with high yields and deuterium ratios through a one-pot halogenation-deuterodehalogenation process. Efficient deuteration of less-active bromide substrates, specific deuterium incorporation into top-selling pharmaceuticals, and oxidant-free paired anodic synthesis of high-value chemicals with low energy input highlighted the potential practicality.

Perdeuterated Conjugated Polymers for Ultralow-Frequency Magnetic Resonance of OLEDs

The formation of excitons in OLEDs is spin dependent and can be controlled by electron-paramagnetic resonance, affecting device resistance and electroluminescence yield. We explore electrically detected magnetic resonance in the regime of very low magnetic fields (<1 mT). A pronounced feature emerges at zero field in addition to the conventional spin- 1 / 2 Zeeman resonance for which the Larmor frequency matches that of the incident radiation. By comparing a conventional π-conjugated polymer as the active material to a perdeuterated analogue, we demonstrate the interplay between the zero-field feature and local hyperfine fields. The zero-field peak results from a quasistatic magnetic-field effect of the RF radiation for periods comparable to the carrier-pair lifetime. Zeeman resonances are resolved down to 3.2 MHz, approximately twice the Larmor frequency of an electron in Earth's field. However, since reducing hyperfine fields sharpens the Zeeman peak at the cost of an increased zero-field peak, we suggest that this result may constitute a fundamental low-field limit of magnetic resonance in carrier-pair-based systems. OLEDs offer an alternative solid-state platform to investigate the radical-pair mechanism of magnetic-field effects in photochemical reactions, allowing models of biological magnetoreception to be tested by measuring spin decoherence directly in the time domain by pulsed experiments.

Origin of Rashba Spin-Orbit Coupling in 2D and 3D Lead Iodide Perovskites

We studied spin dynamics of charge carriers in the superlattice-like Ruddlesden-Popper hybrid lead iodide perovskite semiconductors, 2D (BA)₂(MA)Pb₂I₇ (with MA = CH₃NH₃, and BA = CH₃(CH₂)₃NH₃), and 3D MAPbI₃ using the magnetic field effect (MFE) on conductivity and electroluminescence in their light emitting diodes (LEDs) at cryogenic temperatures. The semiconductors with distinct structural/bulk inversion symmetry breaking, when combined with colossal intrinsic spin-orbit coupling (SOC), theoretically give rise to giant Rashba-type SOC. We found that the magneto-conductance (MC) magnitude increases monotonically with the emission intensity and saturates at ≈0.05% and 0.11% for the MAPbI₃ and (BA)₂(MA)Pb₂I₇, respectively. The magneto-electroluminescence (MEL) response with similar line shapes as the MC response has a significantly larger magnitude, and essentially stays constant at ≈0.22% and ≈0.20% for MAPbI₃ and (BA)₂(MA)Pb₂I₇, respectively. The sign and magnitude of the MC and MEL responses can be quantitatively explained in the framework of the Δg-based excitonic model using rate equations. Remarkably, the width of the MEL response in those materials linearly increases with increasing the applied electric field, where the Rashba coefficient in (BA)₂(MA)Pb₂I₇ is estimated to be about 7 times larger than that in MAPbI₃. Our studies might have significant impact on future development of electrically-controlled spin logic devices via Rashba-like effects.

Molecular Semiconductors for Logic Operations: Dead-End or Bright Future?

The field of organic electronics has been prolific in the last couple of years, leading to the design and synthesis of several molecular semiconductors presenting a mobility in excess of 10 cm² V^-1 s^-1 . However, it is also started to recently falter, as a result of doubtful mobility extractions and reduced industrial interest. This critical review addresses the community of chemists and materials scientists to share with it a critical analysis of the best performing molecular semiconductors and of the inherent charge transport physics that takes place in them. The goal is to inspire chemists and materials scientists and to give them hope that the field of molecular semiconductors for logic operations is not engaged into a dead end. To the contrary, it offers plenty of research opportunities in materials chemistry.

Separation of Spin and Charge Transport in Pristine π-Conjugated Polymers

We have experimentally tested whether spin-transport and charge-transport in pristine π-conjugated polymer films at room temperature occur via the same electronic processes. We have obtained the spin diffusion coefficient of several π-conjugated polymer films from the spin diffusion length measured by the technique of inverse spin Hall effect and the spin relaxation time measured by pulsed electrically detected magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The charge diffusion coefficient was obtained from the time-of-flight mobility measurements on the same films. We found that the spin diffusion coefficient is larger than the charge diffusion coefficient by about 1-2 orders of magnitude and conclude that spin and charge transports in disordered polymer films occur through different electronic processes.

Effects of fast back-fusion of charge transfer excimers on magneto-photocurrent in organic light emitting diodes

We report the magnetic field dependence of the magneto-photocurrent (MPC) in organic light emitting diodes made of homo-polymer organic layers and compare it to the measured magneto-conductance (MC) in the same diodes. We find that the response MPC(B) is very different from MC(B) in at least two respects. (a) The low field (B < 50 mT) response of MPC(B) is narrower by a factor of ∼5 from that of MC(B). (b) At high fields (B > 4 T), MPC(B) has a stronger dependence on B, d(MPC)/dB ∼ 5d(MC)/dB. We attribute these differences to a unique feature of charge transfer excimers that are responsible for MPC: sub-ns fast fusion back to singlet excitons and slow (ns to μs) dissociation to free charges. In contrast, MC(B) is determined by long lived (>10 ns) polaron pairs having singlet and triplet dissociation rates of the same order.

Enhanced Spin Transport of Conjugated Polymer in the Semiconductor/Insulating Polymer Blend

Conjugated polymers are of high potential in the development of spintronic devices. In this paper, we report systematic studies on spin transport properties of a semiconducting polymer PBDTTT-C-T in the permalloy/polymer/Pt trilayer using the spin pumping method. Pure spin current with long spin relaxation time is observed via the inverse spin Hall effect (ISHE) measurements. Furthermore, spin current is also found to propagate through the blend film consisting of a small amount of PBDTTT-C-T in an insulating matrix. The polymer blend exhibits a remarkably enhanced spin relaxation length (56 nm) and carrier mobility compared to pristine PBDTTT-C-T. From film microstructural characterizations, we propose that the enhanced spin/carrier transport properties are attributed to the formation of interlinked nanonetwork comprising of the PBDTTT-C-T chain bundles in the inert matrix to afford efficient intrachain charge conduction pathway. Temperature- dependent ISHE measurements support the spin-orbit coupling dominated spin relaxation mechanism.

Light-Enhanced Spin Diffusion in Hybrid Perovskite Thin Films and Single Crystals

Organolead trihalide perovskites have attracted substantial interest with regard to applications in charge-based photovoltaic and optoelectronic devices because of their low processing costs and remarkable light absorption and charge transport properties. Although spin is an intrinsic quantum descriptor of a particle and spintronics has been a central research theme in condensed matter physics, few studies have explored the spin degree of freedom in the emerging hybrid perovskites. Here, we report the characterization of a spin valve that uses hybrid perovskite films as the spin-transporting medium between two ferromagnetic electrodes. Because of the light-responsive nature of the hybrid perovskite, a high magnetoresistance of 97% and a large spin-diffusion length of 81 nm were achieved at 10 K under light illumination in polycrystalline films. Furthermore, by using thin perovskite single crystals, we discovered that the spin-diffusion length was able to reach 1 μm at low temperatures. Our results indicate that the spin relaxation is not significant as previously expected in such lead-containing materials and demonstrate the potential of low-temperature-processed hybrid perovskites as new active materials in spintronic devices.

Ag(i)-Mediated hydrogen isotope exchange of mono-fluorinated (hetero)arenes

An efficient approach to install deuterium into mono-fluorinated (hetero)arenes by a Ag₂CO₃/Sphos-mediated HIE protocol with D₂O as the deuterium source has been disclosed.

OLEDs as models for bird magnetoception: detecting electron spin resonance in geomagnetic fields

Certain species of living creatures are known to orientate themselves in the geomagnetic field. Given the small magnitude of approximately 48 μT, the underlying quantum mechanical phenomena are expected to exhibit coherence times in the microsecond regime. In this contribution, we show the sensitivity of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) to magnetic fields far below Earth's magnetic field, suggesting that coherence times of the spins of charge-carrier pairs in these devices can be similarly long. By electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) experiments, a lower bound for the coherence time can be assessed directly. Moreover, this technique offers the possibility to determine the distribution of hyperfine fields within the organic semiconductor layer. We extend this technique to a material system exhibiting both fluorescence and phosphorescence, demonstrating stable anticorrelation between optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) spectra in the singlet (fluorescence) and triplet (phosphorescence) channels. The experiments demonstrate the extreme sensitivity of OLEDs to both static as well as dynamic magnetic fields and suggest that coherent spin precession processes of coulombically bound electron-spin pairs may play a crucial role in the magnetoreceptive ability of living creatures.

Correlated magnetic field effects on carriers and excitons in single-carrier exciplex-based organic photodiodes

Magnetic field effects in nonmagnetic organic semiconductors (OMFEs) are attracting increasing attention because of the fingerprint characteristics of their line shapes when they are used to analyze the dynamic processes of organic photodiodes. However, the origin and correlation of OMFEs on carriers and excitons are currently still major challenges for researchers. In this study, we strategically designed exciplex-based single-carrier devices to effectively separate carriers and excitons and investigate their OMFEs and relationships. It is found that the obvious positive magneto-conductance (MC) with illumination is not only related to the formation of charge transfer state (CT) excitons, but is also caused by the secondary recombination process between dissociated carriers from the photo-generated excitons and the injected carriers. Moreover, a negative MC appears under dark conditions, reflecting the intrinsic magnetic field effects on carrier transport. The relationships of the OMFEs with the excitons and carriers were further studied by measuring the incident-wavelength dependent photo-induced MC and the magneto-photoluminescence (MPL) of the exciplex films. The two films show similar amplitude-dependent curves, which are contributed by their donor-acceptor absorption properties. Moreover, the strong triplet-polaron annihilation (TPA) processes exhibited in this device afford different amplitude-dependent photo-induced MCs.

Revealing the Cooperative Relationship between Spin, Energy, and Polarization Parameters toward Developing High-Efficiency Exciplex Light-Emitting Diodes

Experimental studies to reveal the cooperative relationship between spin, energy, and polarization through intermolecular charge-transfer dipoles to harvest nonradiative triplets into radiative singlets in exciplex light-emitting diodes are reported. Magneto-photoluminescence studies reveal that the triplet-to-singlet conversion in exciplexes involves an artificially generated spin-orbital coupling (SOC). The photoinduced electron parametric resonance measurements indicate that the intermolecular charge-transfer occurs with forming electric dipoles (D^+• →A^-• ), providing the ionic polarization to generate SOC in exciplexes. By having different singlet-triplet energy differences (ΔE_ST ) in 9,9'-diphenyl-9H,9'H-3,3'-bicarbazole (BCzPh):3',3'″,3'″″-(1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-triyl)tris(([1,1'-biphenyl]-3-carbonitrile)) (CN-T2T) (ΔE_ST = 30 meV) and BCzPh:bis-4,6-(3,5-di-3-pyridylphenyl)-2-methyl-pyrimidine (B3PYMPM) (ΔE_ST = 130 meV) exciplexes, the SOC generated by the intermolecular charge-transfer states shows large and small values (reflected by different internal magnetic parameters: 274 vs 17 mT) with high and low external quantum efficiency maximum, EQE_max (21.05% vs 4.89%), respectively. To further explore the cooperative relationship of spin, energy, and polarization parameters, different photoluminescence wavelengths are selected to concurrently change SOC, ΔE_ST , and polarization while monitoring delayed fluorescence. When the electron clouds become more deformed at a longer emitting wavelength due to reduced dipole (D^+• →A^-• ) size, enhanced SOC, increased orbital polarization, and decreased ΔE_ST can simultaneously occur to cooperatively operate the triplet-to-singlet conversion.

Spin Injection and Transport in Organic Materials

This review introduces some important spin phenomena of organic molecules and solids and their devices: Organic spin injection and transport, organic spin valves, organic magnetic field effects, organic excited ferromagnetism, organic spin currents, etc. We summarize the experimental and theoretical progress of organic spintronics in recent years and give prospects.

Achieving large and nonvolatile tunable magnetoresistance in organic spin valves using electronic phase separated manganites

Tailoring molecular spinterface between novel magnetic materials and organic semiconductors offers promise to achieve high spin injection efficiency. Yet it has been challenging to achieve simultaneously a high and nonvolatile control of magnetoresistance effect in organic spintronic devices. To date, the largest magnetoresistance (~300% at T = 10 K) has been reached in tris-(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum (Alq₃)-based organic spin valves (OSVs) using La_0.67Sr_0.33MnO₃ as a magnetic electrode. Here we demonstrate that one type of perovskite manganites, i.e., a (La_2/3Pr_1/3)_5/8Ca_3/8MnO₃ thin film with pronounced electronic phase separation (EPS), can be used in Alq₃-based OSVs to achieve a large magnetoresistance (MR) up to 440% at T = 10 K and a typical electrical Hanle effect as the Hallmark of the spin injection. The contactless magnetic field-controlled EPS enables us to achieve a nonvolatile tunable MR response persisting up to 120 K. Our study suggests a new route to design high performance multifunctional OSV devices using electronic phase separated manganites.

Organic materials hold great potential of for spintronic applications. Here the authors show electronic phase dependent magnetoresistance (MR) effect in LPCMO/Alq₃/Co junctions with large MR up to 440% at 10 K as well as electrical Hanle effect as the Hallmark of the spin injection.

Magneto-Electroluminescence Study of Fringe Field in "Magnetic" Organic Light-Emitting Diodes

Magneto-electroluminescence (MEL) represents the electroluminescence intensity change upon application of an external magnetic field. We show that the MEL field response in "magnetic" organic light-emitting diodes, where one electrode is ferromagnetic (FM), is a powerful technique for measuring the induced fringe field, B⃗_F, from the FM electrode in the organic layer. We found that the in-plane fringe field, B⃗_F∥, from 3 nm Co and Ni₈₀Fe₂₀ FM electrodes is proportional to the applied field, B⃗_∥. The fringe field of the 3 nm Ni₈₀Fe₂₀ film was also investigated for an applied out-of-plane magnetic field, B⃗_⊥. We found that the out-of-plane fringe field has two components: a component that is parallel or antiparallel to B⃗_⊥ and remains unchanged with the distance, d, from the FM electrode and the other component that is highly inhomogeneous, parallel to the surface, and steeply decreases with d. We show that the obtained B⃗_F is independent of the underlying mechanism for the MEL(B) response and thus may be considered universal.

Tuning Charge Carrier and Spin Transport Properties via Structural Modification of Polymer Semiconductors

Targeted design of organic semiconductors in organic spintronics is relatively limited. Therefore, four conjugated polymers with analogous structures based on isoindigo (IID) units were designed and synthesized to investigate the structure-property relationships in spin and charge carrier transport. Structural design strategies include introduction of pyridinic nitrogen atoms into IID units to change electronic structures and alteration of different branching points of alkyl chains to adjust the aggregation structure. By fabricating polymer field-effect transistors (PFETs) and organic spin valves (OSVs), all of the polymers exhibited good ambipolar field-effect properties (all of the mobilities exceeding 0.3 cm² V^-1 s^-1) and relatively high magnetoresistance (MR) values (maximum up to 25%). Most importantly, it is found that the introduction of pyridinic nitrogen into the IID units can improve MR values of OSVs and electron mobilities of PFETs, whereas the extension of alkyl chain branching points can reduce MR values of the conjugated polymers. This work is the first attempt to thoroughly study the structure-property relationship in the OSVs, combined with molecular design of the conjugated polymers, which provides a guideline for molecular engineering, especially for organic spintronics.

Magneto-Electroluminescence in ITO/MEH-PPV:PEO:LiCF3SO3/Al Polymer Light-Emitting Electrochemical Cells

Magnetic field effects (MFE) have been extensively studied in organic light emitting diodes because of their potential application in organic spintronics devices. However, only a few studies on MFE in organic light-emitting electrochemical cells (LEC) have been reported. In this paper, magnetic field effects on the electroluminescence of an LEC device with the structure of ITO/MEH-PPV:PEO:LiCF3SO3/Al were studied at various temperatures. The luminance-current-voltage curves of the device shows the typical bi-polar characteristics of LECs; positive magnetic electroluminescence (MEL) was observed with a value of about 2.5% (B = 42 mT, 250 K), showing a Lorentzian line shape. With a decrease in temperature, the MEL value and the threshold voltage increased accordingly, below the possible mechanism is discussed.

Spin-pair state-induced exceptional magnetic field responses from a thermally activated delayed fluorescence-assisted fluorescent material doping system

The thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) material 2,3,5,6-tetrakis(3,6-diphenylcarbazol-9-yl)-1,4-dicyanobenzene (4CzTPN-Ph) and the conventional fluorescent dopant 4-(dicyanomethylene)-2-tert-butyl-6-(1,1,7,7-tetramethyljulolidin-4-yl-vinyl)-4H-pyran (DCJTB) were used to co-dope the host material 4,4'-bis(carbazol-9-yl)biphenyl (CBP) for the fabrication of TADF-assisted fluorescent organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). Some exceptional magnetic field effect (MFE) curves with abundant structures and four tunable components within a low magnetic field range (≤50 mT) were obtained, in sharp contrast to the maximum of two components observed in typical OLEDs. These MFE components were easily tuned by the injection current, dopant concentration, working temperature, and dopant energy gap, leading to a wide variety of MFE curve line shapes. The experimental results are attributed to the spin-pair state inter-conversions occurring in the device, including intersystem crossing (ISC) of CBP polaron pairs, ISC of 4CzTPN-Ph polaron pairs, reverse ISC (RISC) of 4CzTPN-Ph excitons, RISC of DCJTB polaron pairs, DCJTB triplet fusion, and DCJTB triplet-charge annihilation. Moreover, the exciton energy transfer processes among the host material and the guest dopants had a pronounced impact on the formation of these four components. This work gives a deeper understanding of the microscopic mechanisms of TADF-based co-doped systems for the further development of organic magnetic field effects in the extensive field of OLEDs.