Solid state solvation: a fresh view

The design of efficient organic electronic devices, including OLEDs, OPVs, luminescent solar concentrators, etc., relies on the optimization of relevant materials, often constituted by an active (functional) dye embedded in a matrix. Understanding solid state solvation (SSS), i.e. how the properties of the active dye are affected by the matrix, is therefore an issue of fundamental and technological relevance. Here an extensive experimental and theoretical investigation is presented shedding light on this, somewhat controversial, topic. The spectral properties of the dye at equilibrium, i.e. absorption and Raman spectra, are not affected by the matrix dynamics. Reliable estimates of the matrix polarity are then obtained from an analysis of the micro-Raman spectra of polar dyes. Specifically, to establish a reliable polarity scale, the spectra of DCM or NR dispersed in amorphous matrices are compared with the spectra of the same dyes in liquid solvents with known polarity. On the other hand, steady-state emission spectra obtained in solid matrices depend in a highly non-trivial way on the matrix polarity and its dynamics. An extensive experimental and theoretical analysis of the time-resolved emission spectra of NR in a very large time window (15 fs-15 ns) allows us to validate this dye as a good probe of the dielectric dynamics of the surrounding medium. We provide a first assessment of the relaxation dynamics of two matrices (mCBPCN and DPEPO) of interest for OLED application, unambiguously demonstrating that the matrix readjusts for at least 15 ns after the dye photoexcitation.