{"653777":{"#nid":"653777","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Frenkel Biexcitons Light Up Organic Semiconductor Advances","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EOrganic semiconductors already provide the energy behind optical technologies inside television displays, solar cells, and lighting fixtures. Their molecular carbon-based structure makes them cheaper to produce, more flexible, of lighter weight, and more environmentally friendly than silicon-based or composite semiconductors. The future in more applications is bright \u0026mdash; if scientists can learn more about harnessing their ability to react to and produce light.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EA team of Georgia Tech researchers brings us one step closer to understanding those properties. Their new study, published in \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1126\/sciadv.abi5197\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003EScience Advances\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, for the first time brings tracking and measurement to organic semiconductor photoexcitations: particles put into \u0026ldquo;excited\u0026rdquo; or energized quantum states by light.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe semiconductors\u0026rsquo; primary photoexcitations, called Frenkel excitons, dictate the optical qualities in those semiconductors. They can, in principle, form bonded pairs called biexcitons, but these have never been identified unambiguously. Quantifying those reactions will help researchers learn more about their properties to unlock future uses, such as more efficient and sustainable batteries and solar cells, biosensors, and new types of lasers.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;It\u0026rsquo;s a window into the basic electronic structure and properties of these materials,\u0026rdquo; says study co-author \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/physics.gatech.edu\/user\/carlos-silva\u0022\u003ECarlos Silva Acu\u0026ntilde;a\u003C\/a\u003E, a professor with joint appointments in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/chemistry.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Chemistry and Biochemistry\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/physics.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Physics\u003C\/a\u003E, \u0026ldquo;but also into these tech applications we care about. How do we convert electrical energy to light? Or in photovoltaic applications, how do we convert solar light into electrical power? It\u0026rsquo;s more about understanding and discovering the very basic fundamental properties of materials that will allow the design of tailored materials that optimize a particular function.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESilva Acu\u0026ntilde;a and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.chbe.gatech.edu\/people\/natalie-stingelin\u0022\u003ENatalie Stingelin\u003C\/a\u003E, a professor with joint appointments in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.mse.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Materials Science and Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E and the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/chbe.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E, led a team of researchers that tweaked traditional spectroscopy \u0026mdash; how light or any other form of radiation is emitted and absorbed by materials \u0026mdash; to track and measure the energy coming from Frenkel biexcitons. The researchers wanted to know how those photoexcitations form \u0026ldquo;bonds\u0026rdquo; between each other, how excitons find the right partners to form biexcitons, and how stable those exciton partners are.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe scientists used different spectroscopy techniques such as non-linear and coherent versions, which give researchers more flexibility in determining the energies flying back and forth between pairs of excitons. \u0026ldquo;The idea is an advanced spectroscopy that allows us to dissect interactions between excitations,\u0026rdquo; Silva Acu\u0026ntilde;a says. \u0026ldquo;It\u0026rsquo;s designed to measure or resolve the interaction energy between different photoexcitations,\u0026rdquo; adding that the researchers can dissect with more detail where light from the biexcitons falls on the spectrum.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThose interactions are the foundation for any future quantum (atomic and subatomic) science applications for organic semiconductors, \u0026ldquo;because all the quantum phases we might want to induce are all governed by their interactions, and the interactions between photoexcitations are key.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe global organic semiconductor market is expected to grow by $90.8 billion between 2020 and 2024, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.businesswire.com\/news\/home\/20201203005571\/en\/Semiconductor-Market-to-Grow-by-90.80-bn-During-2020-2024-Industry-Analysis-Market-Trends-Market-Growth-Opportunities-and-Forecast-2024-Technavio\u0022\u003Eaccording to Berkshire Hathaway company Business Wire\u003C\/a\u003E. Yet while composite semiconductors have well-studied and defined optical signatures, that\u0026rsquo;s not quite the case for organic semiconductors. \u0026ldquo;We could not find a clear optical signature of biexcitons,\u0026rdquo; Silva Acu\u0026ntilde;a says. \u0026ldquo;That\u0026rsquo;s what has made them more challenging. There is a lot of theoretical prediction and calculation, but not really any experimental measurement\u0026rdquo; preceding the new Georgia Tech research, he explains.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;We can for the first time unambiguously identify bound excitons and characterize their nature. They\u0026rsquo;re attracted to what energy, repulsed by what energy, and why? How do those details relate to molecular structure?\u0026rdquo; he says. \u0026ldquo;What would we need to change to change those properties? How do we discover new materials with tailored properties?\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESilva Acu\u0026ntilde;a also notes an unexpected finding in the research: Excitons that interact with each other in different polymer chains attract each other to form biexcitons \u0026mdash; while excitons in the same polymer chain repel each other. \u0026ldquo;It\u0026rsquo;s a little bit counterintuitive that you can have two excitons repel each other, and yet they bind,\u0026rdquo; he says.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EIf the interaction energy between excitons is strong, a lot of excitons will end up as bound biexcitons, Silva Acu\u0026ntilde;a adds. If science decides that can help add more functions to those materials, \u0026ldquo;Maybe we can design them to be even more strongly bound.\u0026rdquo; Or if it\u0026rsquo;s decided that those bonds need to be weaker for certain functions, \u0026ldquo;How can we turn them off? It\u0026rsquo;s all about material discovery.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E***\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDOI:\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cem\u003Escience.org\/doi\/10.1126\/sciadv.abi5197\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAuthors: \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cem\u003EAlong with Silva-Acu\u0026ntilde;a (C.S.-A.) and Stingelin (N.S.), co-authors of the study include: Elizabeth Guti\u0026eacute;rrez-Meza, Ravyn Malatesta, and David A. Valverde-Ch\u0026aacute;vez (all of the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Georgia Tech), Hongmo Li and Seong-Min Kim (both of the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Georgia Tech), Ilaria Bargigia and Ajay Ram Srimath Kandada (Department of Physics and Center for Functional Materials at Wake Forest University), Eric R. Bittner and Hao Li (Department of Chemistry at University of Houston), and Sergei Tretiak (Theoretical Division and Center for Nonlinear Studies, Los Alamos National Laboratory). C.S.-A. acknowledges support from the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the College of Sciences at Georgia Tech.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFunding:\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Cem\u003EThe work at Georgia Tech was funded by the National Science Foundation [DMR-1904293 (to C.S.-A.) and DMREF-1729737 (to N.S. and C.S.-A.)]. C.S.-A. acknowledges support from the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the College of Sciences at Georgia Tech. The work at the University of Houston was funded in part by the National Science Foundation (CHE-1664971 and DMR-1903785) and the Robert A. Welch Foundation (E-1337). This work was also conducted in part at the Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies, a U.S. Department of Energy and Office of Basic Energy Science user facility. \u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E***\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Georgia Institute of Technology, or Georgia Tech, is a top 10 public research university developing leaders who advance technology and improve the human condition. The Institute offers business, computing, design, engineering, liberal arts, and sciences degrees. Its nearly 44,000 students representing 50 states and 149 countries, study at the main campus in Atlanta, at campuses in France and China, and through distance and online learning. As a leading technological university, Georgia Tech is an engine of economic development for Georgia, the Southeast, and the nation, conducting more than $1 billion in research annually for government, industry, and society.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"A team led by Carlos Silva Acu\u00f1a and Natalie Stingelin finds a way to track and measure biexcitons: the energy behind the light-emitting qualities of organic semiconductors "}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe future of organic semiconductors is bright, thanks to their ability to react to, and produce, light on a much more affordable, sustainable scale than traditional semiconductors. But first scientists must learn more about the forces behind their light-emitting qualities, so-called Frenkel biexcitons. Now, a team of researchers led by Georgia Tech has found a way to measure and track them.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A team led by Carlos Silva Acu\u00f1a and Natalie Stingelin finds a way to track and measure biexcitons: the energy behind the light-emitting qualities of organic semiconductors "}],"uid":"34434","created_gmt":"2021-12-16 20:20:30","changed_gmt":"2022-02-18 19:07:52","author":"Renay San Miguel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2022-02-18T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2022-02-18T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"653779":{"id":"653779","type":"image","title":"Image shows organic-thin film transistors for organic semiconductors under continuous testing on a probe station. 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Season 3, Episode 7 - Finding the Magic in Materials Science"},{"url":"https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/news\/future-colorfully-lit-mystifying-physics-paint-semiconductors","title":"A Future Colorfully Lit by the Mystifying Physics of Paint-On Semiconductors"},{"url":"https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/news\/hispanic-and-latinx-heritage-month-faculty-perspectives-representation-mentoring-leadership","title":"Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Month: Faculty Perspectives on Representation, Mentoring, Leadership in STEM"},{"url":"https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/news\/carlos-silva-named-associate-editor-science-advances","title":"Carlos Silva-Acu\u00f1a Named Associate Editor of Science Advances"},{"url":"https:\/\/silva.chemistry.gatech.edu","title":"Silva Lab"},{"url":"https:\/\/silva.chemistry.gatech.edu","title":"Natalie Stingelin, Siva Sivakumar Named Fellows of the National Academy of Inventors"},{"url":"https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/materials\/5questionsStingelin","title":"5 Questions with the New IMat Advisory Team: Natalie Stingelin"},{"url":"https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/news\/institute-materials-imat-announces-initiative-leads-and-science-advisor","title":"Institute for Materials (IMat) Announces Initiative Leads and Science Advisor"}],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"85951","name":"School of Chemistry and Biochemistry"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"},{"id":"126011","name":"School of Physics"},{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"},{"id":"144","name":"Energy"},{"id":"149","name":"Nanotechnology and Nanoscience"},{"id":"150","name":"Physics and Physical Sciences"}],"keywords":[{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"166937","name":"School of Physics"},{"id":"166928","name":"School of Chemistry and Biochemistry"},{"id":"189593","name":"School of Materials Science"},{"id":"167445","name":"School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering"},{"id":"188975","name":"Carlos Silva Acuna"},{"id":"65041","name":"natalie stingelin"},{"id":"189564","name":"Frenkel biexcitons"},{"id":"6593","name":"organic semiconductors"},{"id":"12372","name":"organic solar cells"},{"id":"182287","name":"organic photovoltaics"},{"id":"2294","name":"materials science"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39451","name":"Electronics and Nanotechnology"},{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"},{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter:\u003C\/strong\u003E Renay San Miguel\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCommunications Officer II\/Science Writer\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCollege of Sciences\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n404-894-5209\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEditor: \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jess@cos.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJess Hunt-Ralston\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["renay.san@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}