Thermally activated delayed fluorescence as a cycling process between excited singlet and triplet states: Application to the fullerenes

In efficient thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) the excited chromophore alternates randomly between the singlet and triplet manifolds a large number of times before emission occurs. In this work, the average number of cycles n is obtained and is shown to have a simple experimental meaning: n+1 is the intensification factor of the prompt fluorescence intensity, owing to the occurrence of TADF. A new method of data analysis for the determination of the quantum yield of triplet formation, combining steady-state and time-resolved data in a single plot, is also presented. Application of the theoretical results to the TADF of [70]fullerenes shows a general good agreement between different methods of fluorescence analysis and allows the determination of several photophysical parameters. (C) 2007 American Institute of Physics.