Light-Harvesting Properties of a Subphthalocyanine Solar Absorber Coupled to an Optical Cavity

Herein, both from the experimental and theoretical point of view, the optical absorption properties of a subphthalocyanine (SubPc), an organic macrocycle commonly used as a sunlight harvester, coupled to metallic optical cavities are analyzed. How different electronic transitions characteristic of this compound and specifically those that give rise to excitonic (Q band) and charge transfer (CT band) transitions couple to optical cavity modes is investigated. It is observed that whereas the CT band couples weakly to the cavity, the Q band transitions show evidence of hybridization with the photon eigenstates of the resonator, a distinctive trait of the strong coupling regime. As a result of the different coupling regimes of the two electronic transitions, very different spectral and directional light-harvesting features are observed, which for the weakly coupled CT transitions are mainly determined by the highly dispersive cavity modes and for the strongly coupled Q band by the less angle-dependent exciton-polariton bands. Modeling also allows discriminating parasitic from productive absorption in each case, enabling the estimation of the expected losses in a solar cell acting as an optical resonator.

Automated summary

In this study, the optical absorption properties of subphthalocyanine (SubPc) coupled to metallic optical cavities are analyzed both experimentally and theoretically. The research investigates how different electronic transitions of SubPc couple to optical cavity modes, with distinct spectral and directional light-harvesting features observed. Modeling allows for distinguishing between parasitic and productive absorption and estimating expected losses in a solar cell acting as an optical resonator.