We report on infrared (IR) nanoscopy of 2D plasmon excitations of Dirac fermions in graphene. This is achieved by confining mid-IR radiation at the apex of a nanoscale tip: an approach yielding 2 orders of magnitude increase in the value of in-plane component of incident wavevector q compared to free space propagation. At these high wavevectors, the Dirac plasmon is found to dramatically enhance the near-field interaction with mid-IR surface phonons of SiO(2) substrate. Our data augmented by detailed modeling establish graphene as a new medium supporting plasmonic effects that can be controlled by gate voltage.

We report high-yield triplet generation by singlet fission upon photoexcitation of a new aggregate of the carotenoid all-trans 3R,3'R-zeaxanthin. The yield is determined by picosecond time-resolved resonance Raman spectroscopy, which allows direct characterization and quantification of triplet excited-state signatures and ground-state depletion. The technique and analysis reveals that triplets form within picoseconds. A quantum yield of 90-200% is derived with the assumption of weak exciton-coupling in the zeaxanthin aggregate.

The carotenoids have low-lying triplet excited states and can self-assemble in some solvents to form weakly or strongly coupled aggregates. These qualities make carotenoid aggregates useful for studies of singlet fission, where an outstanding goal is the correlation of interchromophoric coupling to the dynamics and yield of triplet excited states from a parent singlet excited state. Three aggregates of zeaxanthin, two weakly coupled and one strongly coupled, are characterized by steady-state spectroscopic methods including temperature-dependent absorption, fluorescence, and resonance Raman spectroscopy. The absorption spectra for each type of aggregate are distinct; however, an analysis of band positions reveals some important shared characteristics and suggests that the strongly coupled H-aggregate contains a subpopulation of weakly coupled constituents. Temperature-dependent absorption spectroscopy indicates that one of the weakly coupled aggregates can be converted to the other upon heating. The emission spectra of the three aggregates have similar profiles that are overall red-shifted by more than 1000 cm(-1) relative to the monomer. The emission quantum yields of the aggregates are 5 to 30 times less than that of the monomer, with the lowest yield for the strongly coupled aggregate. The vibrational spectra of the chromophores support only slight perturbations from the structure of solvated monomers. Our findings support the conclusion that all three aggregates are best characterized as H-aggregates, in agreement with a prior theoretical study of lutein aggregates.

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The excited-state dynamics of three types of zeaxanthin aggregates are probed with transient absorption spectroscopy on the femtosecond-to-microsecond timescale. Triplet excited states form via singlet fission in all three aggregates within several hundred femtoseconds. The transient absorption spectra are consistent with an S 2 , but not S 1 , parent state for singlet fission. The quantum yield of triplet states in one of the weakly-coupled aggregates is at least 60-80% immediately following photoexcitation. The same aggregate has a 10-30% yield of S 1 excited states, which have a dominant decay time of ~8 ps. For the strongly-coupled H-aggregate, a new transient absorption band with maximum 400−420 nm is found. The band is assigned to a triplet state with T 1 →T n transition that is strongly exciton-coupled to either the S 0 →S 2 transition of surrounding ground-state chromophores, or a T 1 →T n transition of a nearby triplet excited state. The yield of triplet states could be 180% or more in the stronglycoupled aggregate, as inferred from the absence of S 1 signal. Fast annihilation depletes most of the triplet population in the aggregates on the picosecond timescale, however a measurable fraction persists beyond 1 µs.