Concentration effects on intrachain polaron recombination in conjugated polymers

Phys Chem Chem Phys. 2015 Jan 14;17(2):1299-308. doi: 10.1039/c4cp04514a. Epub 2014 Nov 25.

Abstract

The influence of different charge carrier concentrations on the recombination dynamics between oppositely charged polarons is numerically investigated using a modified version of the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger (SSH) model that includes an external electric field and electron-electron interactions. Our findings show that the external electric field can play the role of avoiding the formation of excited states (polaron-exciton and neutral excitation) leading the system to a dimerized lattice. Interestingly, depending on a suitable balance between the polaron concentration and the electric field strength, the recombination mechanism can form stable polaron-excitons or neutral excitations. These results may provide guidance to improve the electroluminescence efficiency in Polymer Light Emitting Diodes.