Singlet Fission and Excimer Formation in Disordered Solids of Alkyl-Substituted 1,3-Diphenylisobenzofurans

We describe the preparation and excited state dynamics of three alkyl derivatives of 1,3-diphenylisobenzofuran (1) in both solutions and thin films. The substitutions are intended to disrupt the slip-stacked packing observed in crystals of 1 while maintaining the favorable energies of singlet and triplet for singlet fission (SF). All substitutions result in films that are largely amorphous as judged by the absence of strong X-ray diffraction peaks. The films of 1 carrying a methyl in the para position of one phenyl ring undergo SF relatively efficiently (≥75% triplet yield, φ_T) but more slowly than thin films of 1. When the methyl is replaced with a t-butyl, kinetic competition in the excited state favors excimer formation rather than SF (φ_T = 55%). When t-Bu groups are placed in both meta positions of the phenyl substituent, SF is slowed further and φ_T = 35%.