Exciton energy transfer in conjugated polymers via a three-level Donor–Acceptor model
摘要
We investigate intra-chain exciton energy transfer (EET) in a conjugated polymer using a reduced three-level donor–acceptor model that separates vertical excitations from vibrationally relaxed states. Population dynamics are obtained with the hierarchical equations of motion (HEOM), enabling a non-Markovian treatment of system–bath (S–B) interactions. Case studies on Donor–Acceptor (D–A) pairs with small and large energy gaps reveal competition among coherent hopping, vibrational relaxation, and Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET). Varying the hopping and the S–B relaxation rate highlights roles of exciton transfer, thermal relaxation, and dipole-mediated coupling. The results show that energy gap, hopping, and relaxation jointly control intrachain EET.