title: Photocell Optimization Using Dark State Protection.
abstract: Conventional photocells suffer a fundamental efficiency threshold imposed by the principle of detailed balance, reflecting the fact that good absorbers must necessarily also be fast emitters. This limitation can be overcome by "parking" the energy of an absorbed photon in a dark state which neither absorbs nor emits light. Here we argue that suitable dark states occur naturally as a consequence of the dipole-dipole interaction between two proximal optical dipoles for a wide range of realistic molecular dimers. We develop an intuitive model of a photocell comprising two light-absorbing molecules coupled to an idealized reaction center, showing asymmetric dimers are capable of providing a significant enhancement of light-to-current conversion under ambient conditions. We conclude by describing a road map for identifying suitable molecular dimers for demonstrating this effect by screening a very large set of possible candidate molecules.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PH, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Amir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fruchtman
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gómez-Bombarelli
authors.affiliation: SUPA, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St. Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9SS, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Brendon W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Lovett
authors.affiliation: SUPA, Institute of Photonics and Quantum Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Erik M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Gauger