Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	EP/N014022/1
Title:	Singlet fission in polyenes
Principal Investigator:	Clark, Dr J
Other Investigators:
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:	Imperial College London University of Cambridge University of Oxford
Department:	Physics and Astronomy
Organisation:	University of Sheffield
Scheme:	First Grant - Revised 2009
Starts:	01 May 2016	Ends:	30 April 2017	Value (£):	99,445
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Materials Characterisation Optical Devices & Subsystems Optical Phenomena
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	No relevance to Underpinning Sectors
Related Grants:
Panel History:	Panel Date Panel Name Outcome 03 Dec 2015 EPSRC Physical Sciences Materials and Physics - December 2015 Announced
Summary on Grant Application Form
In current solar cells much of the UV and blue light absorbed is lost as heat, as the energy of the absorbed photon is much higher than the bandgap of the semiconductor material, and therefore the collected electronic energy. One mechanism for harvesting all of the absorbed photon energy is to exploit the 'singlet exciton fission' process which occurs in some organic semiconductors. Singlet fission is a process whereby the primary excited state (singlet exciton) can split into two distinct triplet excitons which can both be harvested. In this way, one absorbed photon creates two collected charges, producing a solar cell with up to 200% quantum efficiency. Singlet fission in polyenes (linear conjugated carbon chains) occurs when there is enough space for two triplet excitons to sit near each other: either on a very long polymer chain, or on two closely spaced neighbouring molecules. Polyenes demonstrate strong photoabsorption in UV-visible region, are solution-processable and demonstrate very efficient and robust singlet fission. They are therefore excellent candidates for singlet fission solar cells. To exploit the singlet fission mechanism and the polyene class of materials, we need better understanding of how to describe singlet fission in polyenes and how to control it through material design. In addition, we urgently need to demonstrate whether the triplet excitons created through singlet fission can be efficiently ionised to create charges. In this project, we will answer these questions using a combination of cutting-edge time-resolved spectroscopic techniques, model samples and high-level theory.
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Organisation Website:	http://www.shef.ac.uk