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The fabrication and characterization of an all polymers‐based bulk heterojunction type organic photodiode having a narrowband response in the near‐infrared spectral region with full width at half‐maxima of 63 nm is reported. The active layer of the photodiode constitutes a 1:1 (by weight) blend of poly[4,8‐bis(5‐(2‐ethylhexyl)thiophen‐2‐yl)benzo[1,2‐b;4,5‐b']dithiophene‐2,6‐diyl‐alt‐(4‐(2‐ethylhexyl)‐3‐fluorothieno[3,4‐b]thiophene‐)‐2‐carboxylate‐2‐6‐diyl)] (PCE10) and poly{[N,N′‐bis(2‐octyldodecyl)‐naphthalene‐1,4,5,8‐bis(dicarboximide)‐2,6‐diy1]‐alt‐5,5′‐(2,2′‐dithiophene)} (N2200) deposited using solution processing. The device exhibits a linear dynamic range of 35 dB, response speed of 893 kHz, and specific‐detectivity of 109 Jones at 808 nm excitation wavelength. The narrowband response is achieved using the charge collection narrowing mechanism in a 2.7 μm thick junction device. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excited‐state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) chromophores have attracted considerable attention as promising gain media for organic lasers, particularly in amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) due to their advantageous characteristics. These include an intrinsic four‐level photocycle, significant separation between absorption and emission spectra, and enhanced emission efficiency facilitated by aggregate‐induced emission. This study investigates the amplification of π‐conjugation in hydroxyphenyl‐benzothiazole (HBT)‐based ESIPT materials via dimerization to intensify ESIPT processes, surge absorption cross‐section, enhance optical gain, and induce a redshift in emission spectra. Computational study shows that the ESIPT processes of the new dimers proceed through single proton transfer where the second proton transfer is not accessible. While the ESIPT photocycle does not extend to both HBT moieties of the dimers, the dimers foster more efficient ESIPT processes in both solution and solid states than their parent HBT, resulting in substantial Stokes shifts (>233 nm). Moreover, both dimers exhibit enhanced solid‐state photoluminescence quantum yields, reaching up to ≈55%, and low solid‐state ASE threshold values (≈6.8 µJ cm−2) in the red region. Remarkably, the new dimers demonstrate excellent thermal and photostability with notably reduced spectral overlap compared to their parent, highlighting the potential utility of the approaches to developing new organic solid‐state laser materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chromophores undergoing excited‐state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) feature a distinct four‐level photocycle and significant Stokes shift, which make them ideal for achieving population inversion upon photoexcitation, a fundamental prerequisite for lasing, by mitigating the concerns of self‐absorption owing to spectral overlap. This study focuses on functionalizing the hydroxyphenyl‐benzothiazole (HBT) ESIPT laser dye through the introduction of fluorene and phenyl‐carbazole moieties at the para‐position to the hydroxyl group, to demonstrate amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) activities. The synthesized HBT derivatives not only exhibit high thermal and photostability, but also high photoluminescence quantum yields, exceeding 40%, which is noteworthy for ESIPT materials emitting in the yellow–orange to red color ranges. Computational analyses show that these new HBT materials possess substantially lower ESIPT energy barriers, compared to their parent HBT, facilitating their efficient ESIPT processes. Moreover, these derivatives demonstrate a high radiative rate of 1.47 × 108 s−1. Thin films of a fluorene‐substituted HBT (HBT‐pFl) show a low solid‐state amplified spontaneous emission threshold value of 3.8 µJ cm−2 at 582 nm, representing the lowest reported solid‐state ASE threshold for laser dyes in the orange emission region (575–600 nm) to date. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different approaches have been introduced to raise the response speed of bulk heterojunction‐based organic photodiodes (OPDs), with the best‐performing devices now having speeds in the MHz range. In most organic photodiodes, the response speed is commonly assumed to be due to transit time of charge carriers. Upon investigating fluence‐dependent photoresponse of different OPDs, it is found here that bimolecular recombination dictates the response speed at higher fluence levels. Herein, four different organic blend based photodiode systems and their response speed to a range of incident optical fluences are reported. A steep variation in response speed, depending upon the blend system is observed. Using experimental and theoretical studies, the intensity‐dependent response speeds are attributed to differences in the suppressed recombination factor. A high factor enables faster response times in the regime of higher light intensity. This new approach to high‐speed detections has implications for the design of high‐speed organic photodetectors, especially in applications where the speed of the photodetector is most important irrespective of the intensity of the incident signal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The facile oxidation of Sn2+ to Sn4+ poses an inherent challenge that limits the efficiency and stability of tin‐lead mixed (Sn−Pb) perovskite solar cells (PSCs) and all‐perovskite tandem devices. In this work, we discover the sustainable redox reactions enabling self‐healing Sn−Pb perovskites, where their intractable oxidation degradation can be recovered to their original state under light soaking. Quantitative and operando spectroscopies are used to investigate the redox chemistry, revealing that metallic Pb0 from the photolysis of perovskite reacts with Sn4+ to regenerate Pb2+ and Sn2+ spontaneously. Given the sluggish redox reaction kinetics, V3+/V2+ ionic pair is designed as an effective redox shuttle to accelerate the recovery of Sn−Pb perovskites from oxidation. The target Sn−Pb PSCs enabled by V3+/V2+ ionic pair deliver an improved power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 21.22 % and excellent device lifespan, retaining nearly 90 % of its initial PCE after maximum power point tracking under light for 1,000 hours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic laser materials are compared based on their ability to exhibit amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) and the energy threshold (E ASEth) required to achieve it. Very broadly, ASE demonstrates whether energy gains exceed energy losses within a given system. Various material design strategies have been explored to maximise gains and minimise losses. Among these, excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) materials enable the absorbing species to differ greatly from the emitting species through enol–keto tautomerisation, generating a substantial Stokes shift and eliminating self-absorption losses. However, the resulting large Stokes shift also makes the development of efficient blue-emitting ESIPT laser semiconductors challenging. This work leveraged a combinatorial design strategy in ESIPT while simultaneously endowing molecular rigidity through strategic placement of one or two bonds to increase the rigidity of the chromophore for constrained non-radiative decay pathways. As a result, uncharacteristically high intrinsic photoluminescence quantum yields of 33–55% are observed for these new ESIPT chromophores. They are also found to exhibit high solid-state PLQYs (34–49%) in the blue region. These new chromophores further facilitated low solid-state ASE thresholds (4.4–5.2 μJ cm−2 at 6 wt% in a common host material, 4,4′-bis(N-carbazolyl)-1,1′-biphenyl). Thus, even without a resonating structure, all compounds outperformed the literature parent HPI-Ac single crystals with a laser threshold of 6.0 μJ cm−2, showing the benefits of a rigidity approach to low solid-state ASE thresholds for blue ESIPT laser chromophores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photodetectors that can achieve high‐speed photoresponse and high responsivity with broadband detection are essential for bio‐health monitoring, imaging, chemical sensing, and many other applications. Herein a high‐performance inorganic–organic hybrid photodetector based on a heterojunction of exfoliated 2D tungsten diselenide (WSe2) layers and solution‐processable poly(3‐hexylthiophene‐2,5‐diyl), P3HT is reported. The heterojunction shows enhanced exciton harvesting through long‐range energy transfer from P3HT to WSe2, which is confirmed using photoluminescence quenching and fluorescence decay measurements. The detector shows broadband light detection from visible to near‐infrared (NIR) (400−1100 nm), and air‐stable device performance. The device exhibits the highest responsivity of 17.6 AW−1 for low incident light intensity (<10−5 W cm−2) at 640 nm wavelength of light. Furthermore, a fast photoresponse speed with a rise/fall time of 9.5/5.1 µs, which retained its performance for more than four months under ambient conditions is demonstrated. The superior device performance presented here using an inorganic–organic hybrid heterojunction is the key to producing novel high‐performance and air‐stable photodetectors with broad spectral bandwidth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The photoluminescence (PL) dynamics of Ir(ppy)(sub 3)-cored dendrimers with the simple molecule Ir(ppy)(sub 3) in solution, blends, and neat films are discussed. Extensive aggregation of Ir(ppy)(sub 3) molecules is indicated by their rough surface with aggregated region of rodlike structure, as obtained by atomic force microscopy, which suggests that the PL quenchers in neat Ir(ppy)(sub 3) films may be excimers.

Photophysical studies of pseudo-p-distyryl[2.2]paracyclophane, a model molecule of a stilbene dimer arranged in a brick-wall geometry, in tetrahydrofurane solution indicate the existence of at least two conformers in the ground state. Ground state energy has a shallow minimum with respect to the torsinal angle between the styryl side group and the paracyclophane core around the zero position, with the lowest energy conformation at a torsional angle of -21 degree.