Size of electron-hole pairs in π-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, omega) 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.