Exciton Energy Transfer in Conjugated Polymers via a Three-Level Donor-Acceptor Model

Abstract

We investigate intra-chain exciton energy transfer (EET) in a conjugated polymer using a reduced three-level donor-acceptor model that separates vertical excitations from vibrationally relaxed states. Population dynamics are obtained with the hierarchical equations of motion (HEOM), enabling a non-Markovian treatment of system-bath (S-B) interactions. Case studies on donor-acceptor (D-A) pairs with small and large energy gaps reveal competition among coherent hopping, vibrational relaxation, and Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET). Varying the hopping and the S-B relaxation rate highlights roles of exciton transfer, thermal relaxation, and dipole-mediated coupling. The results show that energy gap, hopping, and relaxation jointly control intrachain EET.

arXiv comment16 pages, 5 figures

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