Resolving and Controlling Photoinduced Ultrafast Solvation in the Solid State

Solid-state solvation (SSS) is a solid-state analogue of solvent–solute interactions in the liquid state. Although it could enable exceptionally fine control over the energetic properties of solid-state devices, its molecular mechanisms have remained largely unexplored. We use ultrafast transient absorption and optical Kerr effect spectroscopies to independently track and correlate both the excited-state dynamics of an organic emitter and the polarization anisotropy relaxation of a small polar dopant embedded in an amorphous polystyrene matrix. The results demonstrate that the dopants are able to rotationally reorient on ultrafast time scales following light-induced changes in the electronic configuration of the emitter, minimizing the system energy. The solid-state dopant–emitter dynamics are intrinsically analogous to liquid-state solvent–solute interactions. In addition, tuning the dopant/polymer pore ratio offers control over solvation dynamics by exploiting molecular-scale confinement of the dopants by the polymer matrix. Our findings will enable refined strategies for tuning optoelectronic material properties using SSS and offer new strategies to investigate mobility and disorder in heterogeneous solid and glassy materials.