Fluorescence yield and lifetime of isolated polydiacetylene chains: Evidence for a one-dimensional exciton band in a conjugated polymer

The fluorescence lifetime tau and quantum yield eta(f) of isolated red polydiacetylene chains dispersed in their monomer single crystal matrix were measured between 10 and 100 K. tau increases up to 120 ps at 40 K, then rapidly decreases at higher T. eta(f) is a continuously decreasing function of T. The radiative lifetime tau(r) is proportional to rootT in the whole T range studied. This is the expected behavior for a purely one-dimensional system without localization, a behavior which is not usually observed even in semiconductor quantum wires. An order of magnitude of the exciton effective mass m*approximate to0.3 is inferred. The nonradiative lifetime tau(nr) is constant up to 50 K, then decreases exponentially, indicating the opening of a thermally activated decay channel.