Optical Properties of Oligothiophene Substituted Diketopyrrolopyrrole Derivatives in the Solid Phase: Joint J- and H-Type Aggregation

Photophysical properties of diketopyrrolopyrrole derivatives substituted with oligothiophenes are investigated. All compounds are found to be fluorescent both in solution and in the solid phase. At low temperature in the solid, fluorescence originates from excimer-like excited states. Comparison of absorption and fluorescence excitation spectra taken under matrix isolated conditions and on solid films show the presence of both J- and H-type absorption bands in the solid phase. Quantum-chemical calculations, including exciton-phonon coupling to account for deviations from the Born-Oppenheimer approximation, are performed to simulate the band shape of the lowest absorption band in the molecular solid. The joint presence of J- and H-bands is explained by the presence of two molecules in the unit cell. The Davydov splitting is substantial for molecules with linear alkyl substituents on the nitrogen atom (on the order of 0.2 eV) but can be reduced to almost zero by introducing branching at the beta-carbon of the alkyl side chain.