Size of Electron-Hole Pairs in ?-Conjugated Systems

We have performed momentum-dependent electron energy-loss studies of the electronic excitations in sexithiophene and compared the results to those from parent oligomers. Our experiment probes the dynamic structure factor S(q,?) and shows that the momentum-dependent intensity variation of the excitations observed can be used to extract the size of the electron-hole pair created in the excitation process. The extension of the electron-hole pairs along the molecules is comparable to the length of the molecules. Consequently, the primary intramolecular electron-hole pairs are relatively weakly bound. We find no evidence for the formation of excitations localized on single thiophene units.