photon management. SF enables multiple excitons to be generated after the absorption of just a single photon. [1-9] By integrating SF materials into solar-cell architectures, it is feasible to increase the overall efficiency of solar cells by pushing the Shockley-Queisser limit from 32% to approximately 45%. Several requirements must, however, be met to allow for efficient SF well beyond 100%. [10,11] Thermodynamically, the energy level of the singlet excited state (S 1) must be equal to or higher than twice that of the triplet excited state (T 1); (S 1) ≥ 2(T 1). [2,3,12] In addition, the energy levels of higher-lying triplet excited states (T 2) should exceed twice the energy of the lowest-lying triplet excited state; (T 2) ≥ 2(T 1). [2,3,12] The latter avoids (T 2) population as a product of triplet-triplet annihilation up-conversion (TTA-UC). [2,3,12] Sufficient electronic interaction between two or more chromophores is essential, and is usually realized for monomers by overlaps in the crystal packing or high concentrations in the solid state or solution, respectively. [12-16] Dimers, in which different spacers are employed to link the chromophores, rather than monomers, represent yet another strategy to adjust and fine-tune, for Three diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) dimers, linked via different dithienylphenylene spacers, ortho-DPP (o-DPP), meta-DPP (m-DPP), and para-DPP (p-DPP), are synthesized, characterized, and probed in light of intramolecular singlet fission (i-SF). Importantly, the corresponding DPP reference (DPP-Ref) singlet and triplet excited state energies of 2.22 and 1.04 eV, respectively, suggest that i-SF is thermodynamically feasible. The investigations focus on the impact of the relative positioning of the DPPs, and give compelling evidence that solvent polarity and/or spatial overlap govern i-SF dynamics and efficiencies. Polar solvents make the involvement of an intermediate charge transfer (CT) state possible, followed by the population of 1 (T 1 T 1) and subsequently (T 1 + T 1), while spatial overlap drives the mutual interactions between the DPPs. In o-DPP, the correct balance between polar solvents and spatial overlap leads to the highest triplet quantum yield (TQY) of 40%. Notable is the superimposition of CT and triplet excited states, preventing an accurate TQY determination. For m-DPP, poorer spatial overlap correlates with weaker CT character and manifests in a TQY of 11%. Strong CT character acts as a trap and prevents i-SF, as found with p-DPP. The DPP separation is decisive, enabling a symmetry-breaking charge-separated state rather than CT formation, shutting down the formation 1 (T 1 T 1).

Triplet-excited-state energies of perylene-monoimides (PMIs) lie in the range 1.12 eV ± 2 meV when compared to singlet-excited-state energies of about 2.39 eV ± 2 meV; therefore, the corresponding naphthalene-linked PMI-Dimer was investigated as a novel singlet-fission (SF) material. Ultrafast transient absorption measurements demonstrated the (S 1 S 0 )-to-1 (T 1 T 1 ) transformation and the involvement of a mediating step in the overall 1 (T 1 T 1 ) formation. The intermediate is a charge-transfer state that links the initial (S 1 S 0 ) with the final 1 (T 1 T 1 ), and imposes charge-transfer character on both, which are thus denoted (S 1 S 0 ) CT and 1 (T 1 T 1 ) CT . At room temperature, the decorrelation and stability of 1 (T 1 T 1 ) CT is affected by the geminate triplet−triplet recombination (G-TTR) of the two triplets. Independent confirmation for G-TTR to afford upconverted (S 1 S 0 ) UC in fsTA and nsTA measurements with PMI-Dimer, came from probing PMI-Monomer (T 1 )s in triplet−triplet annihilation up-conversion (TTA-UC). The G-TTR channel, active in the PMI-Dimer at room temperature, is suppressed by working at either low temperatures (∼140 K) or in polar solvents (benzonitrile): Both scenarios assist in stabilizing (T 1 T 1 ) CT . As a consequence, the triplet quantum yields are 4.2% and 14.9% at room temperature and 140 K, respectively, in 2-methyltetrahydrofuran.

Red‐emissive π‐expanded diketopyrrolopyrroles (DPPs) with fluorescence reaching λ=750 nm can be easily synthesized by a three‐step strategy involving the preparation of diketopyrrolopyrrole followed by N‐arylation and subsequent intramolecular palladium‐catalyzed direct arylation. Comprehensive spectroscopic assays combined with first‐principles calculations corroborated that both N‐arylated and fused DPPs reach a locally excited (S1) state after excitation, followed by internal conversion to states with solvent and structural relaxation, before eventually undergoing intersystem crossing. Only the structurally relaxed state is fluorescent, with lifetimes in the range of several nanoseconds and tens of picoseconds in nonpolar and polar solvents, respectively. The lifetimes correlate with the fluorescence quantum yields, which range from 6 % to 88 % in nonpolar solvents and from 0.4 % and 3.2 % in polar solvents. A very inefficient (T1) population is responsible for fluorescence quantum yields as high as 88 % for the fully fused DPP in polar solvents.