Triplet Exciton Management via Solid-State Interactions in Organic Semiconductors

During my PhD, I investigated the physics of light emission in a series of organometallic molecular rotors known as carbene-metal-amides (CMAs) for use in state-of-art organic LEDs (OLEDs). The aim is to understand the emission mechanism of these molecules and the effects of solid-state interactions on triplet excitons. The results highlight the diffusion process, the electrostatic interactions with surrounding molecules, the link between molecular conformations and photophysical properties, and heavy-atom effects by using various optical spectroscopy techniques combined with computational models. The intended application is the development of efficient and stable OLED light sources based on thin-film organic semiconductors, particularly in the blue spectral region.

The results have been published in three journal articles. The work discussing the effect of triplet diffusion and electrostatic interactions features in Advanced Functional Materials. The work exploring the influence of nuclear reorganisation and polarisation features in Chemistry of Materials. The work discussing the influence of heavy atom effect on the photophysics of coinage metal CMAs features in Advanced Functional Materials.

You can find a copy of my PhD thesis here.

The graffiti-style poster below (you may have seen it in the front page) basically encapsulates the essence of my thesis in an informal way. All the hand-drawn figures in the poster have a formal version in the thesis. See if you can match them.