Takuma Yamaguchi

Hole-phonon coupling effect on the band dispersion of organic molecular semiconductors

The dynamic interaction between the traveling charges and the molecular vibrations is critical for the charge transport in organic semiconductors. However, a direct evidence of the expected impact of the charge-phonon coupling on the band dispersion of organic semiconductors is yet to be provided. Here, we report on the electronic properties of rubrene single crystal as investigated by angle resolved ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy. A gap opening and kink-like features in the rubrene electronic band dispersion are observed. In particular, the latter results in a large enhancement of the hole effective mass (> 1.4), well above the limit of the theoretical estimations. The results are consistent with the expected modifications of the band structures in organic semiconductors as introduced by hole-phonon coupling effects and represent an important experimental step toward the understanding of the charge localization phenomena in organic materials.The charge transport properties in organic semiconductors are affected by the impact of molecular vibrations, yet it has been challenging to quantify them to date. Here, Bussolotti et al. provide direct experimental evidence on the band dispersion modified by molecular vibrations in a rubrene single crystal.

Charge transfer states appear in the π-conjugated pure hydrocarbon molecule on Cu(111)

We report on the results of experimental and theoretical studies on the electronic structure of gas-phase diindenoperylene (DIP) and DIP-monolayer (ML) on Cu(111). Vapor-phase ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) was realized for 11.3 mg of DIP, giving reference orbital energies of isolated DIP, and UPS and inverse photoemission spectroscopy of DIP-ML/graphite were performed to obtain DIP-ML electronic states at a weak interfacial interaction. Furthermore, first-principles calculation clearly demonstrates the interfacial rearrangement. These results provide evidence that the rearrangement of orbital energies, which is realized in HOMO–LUMO and HOMO–HOMO−1 gaps, brings partially occupied LUMO through the surface-induced aromatic stabilization of DIP, a pure hydrocarbon molecule, on Cu(111).