Ultrafast photoinduced charge separation resulting from self-assembly of a green perylene-based dye into π-stacked arrays

Condensation of 3,4,5-tris(n-dodecyloxy)aniline with the green chromophore 1,7-bis(N-pyrrolidinyl)perylene-3,4;9,10-tetracarboxylic dianhydride yields N,N′-bis(3,4,5-tris(n-dodecyloxy)phenyl)-1,7-bis(N-pyrrolidinyl) perylene-3,4;9,10-bis(dicarboximide), 5PDI-TAP, which absorbs light strongly from 550 to 750 nm. 5PDI-TAP dissolves readily in methylcyclohexane (MCH), resulting in self-assembly into H-aggregates. Small-angle X-ray scattering data obtained on 10 ^-4 M solutions of 5PDI-TAP in MCH show that the aggregates are π-stacked monodisperse pentamers. Femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy on solutions of (5PDI-TAP) ₅ in MCH shows evidence of charge separation occurring with τ ≤ 150 fs between adjacent stacked members of 5PDI-TAP within the pentamer followed by charge recombination with τ = 860 ps. Transmission electron microscopy of 5PDI-TAP films cast from solution show isolated bundles of columnar aggregates. (5PDI-TAP) _n is a potentially useful material for organic photovoltaics because efficient photoinduced charge generation is an intrinsic property of the assembly.