Ambient solid-state triplet–triplet annihilation upconversion in ureasil organic–inorganic hybrid hosts

Abstract

Triplet–triplet-annihilation upconversion (TTA-UC) has attracted significant attention as an approach to harvest low energy solar photons that cannot be captured by conventional photovoltaic devices. However, device integration requires the design of solid-state TTA-UC materials that combine high upconversion efficiency with long term stability. Herein, we report an efficient solid-state TTA-UC system based on organic–inorganic hybrid polymers known as ureasils as hosts for the archetypal sensitiser/emitter pair of palladium(II) octaethylporphyrin and diphenylanthracene. The role of the ureasil structure on the TTA-UC performance was probed by varying the branching and molecular weight of the organic precursor to tune the structural, mechanical, and thermal properties. Solid-state green-to-blue UC quantum yields of up to 1.86% were observed under ambient conditions. Notably, depending on the ureasil structure, UC emission could be retained for >70 days without any special treatment, including deoxygenation. Detailed analysis of the structure-function trends revealed that while a low glass transition temperature is required to promote TTA-UC molecular collisions, a higher inorganic content is the primary factor that determines the UC efficiency and stability, due to the inherent oxygen barrier provided by the silica nanodomains.

Graphical abstract: Ambient solid-state triplet–triplet annihilation upconversion in ureasil organic–inorganic hybrid hosts

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
09 Feb 2024
Accepted
27 Mar 2024
First published
15 Apr 2024
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

J. Mater. Chem. C, 2024, Advance Article

Ambient solid-state triplet–triplet annihilation upconversion in ureasil organic–inorganic hybrid hosts

A. R. Collins, B. Zhang, M. J. Bennison and R. C. Evans, J. Mater. Chem. C, 2024, Advance Article , DOI: 10.1039/D4TC00562G

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