Long-wavelength emission and excimer formation for PCBM in solutions and polymer matrices

Abstract

The present study explores the excited-state relaxation of PCBM (phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester) fullerene derivatives in various organic environments, with a focus on the influence of molecular aggregation. A comparative analysis was performed on PCBM solutions in acetonitrile and toluene, as well as in solid matrices - polystyrene (PS) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). A comprehensive study of linear optical properties has been performed, including absorption spectra, steady-state photoluminescence (PL) spectra, kinetics of PL decay, and PL lifetimes. The study shows that, depending on the environment and the degree of aggregation, PCBM exhibits distinct emission features arising from monomer species as well as from different types of aggregates, mainly from complexes such as excimers within the long-wavelength region of 650–850 nm. It has been shown that monomeric forms of PCBM exhibit short lifetimes in acetonitrile solution, whereas excimer complexes in toluene solution and polymer matrices are characterized by longer lifetimes. The results presented herein contribute to the understanding of the nature of long-wavelength luminescence in PCBM and can be used in the development of organic photovoltaic and optoelectronic devices.

Publication DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15421406.2025.2559732
Divisions: College of Engineering & Physical Sciences > School of Computer Science and Digital Technologies > Electronics & Computer Engineering
College of Engineering & Physical Sciences > School of Computer Science and Digital Technologies
College of Engineering & Physical Sciences
College of Engineering & Physical Sciences > Aston Institute of Photonics Technology (AIPT)
Funding Information: The authors acknowledge funding from the National Research Foundation of Ukraine (Project #2022.01/0011) and National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (Project 1.4ffl/209 “The study of photoelectronic properties of new nanocomposite materials promising for
Additional Information: Copyright © 2025 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. This is an Accepted Manuscript version of the following article, accepted for publication in Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals and published on 13th September 2025. This version is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Uncontrolled Keywords: PCBM,photoluminescence (PL),kinetics of PL decay,lifetimes,solutions,polymer matrices,excimers,aggregates
Publication ISSN: 1563-5287
Last Modified: 30 Sep 2025 16:01
Date Deposited: 30 Sep 2025 08:57
Full Text Link:
Related URLs: https://www.tan ... 06.2025.2559732 (Publisher URL)
http://www.scop ... tnerID=8YFLogxK (Scopus URL)
PURE Output Type: Article
Published Date: 2025-09-13
Published Online Date: 2025-09-13
Accepted Date: 2025-09-01
Authors: Kostetskyi, A. O.
Piryatinski, Y. P.
Verbitsky, A. B.
Lutsyk, P. M. (ORCID Profile 0000-0002-7004-1946)
Rozhin, A. G. (ORCID Profile 0000-0003-2271-8227)

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Version: Accepted Version

Access Restriction: Restricted to Repository staff only until 13 September 2026.

License: Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial


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