Chem
ArticleOptical Projection and Spatial Separation of Spin-Entangled Triplet Pairs from the S1 (21 Ag–) State of Pi-Conjugated Systems
The Bigger Picture
Unlike semiconductors, such as silicon, electrons confined in one-dimensional organic polymers do not behave as quasi-independent particles: each electron’s quantum state depends on the position, motion, and spin of all the others, leading to correlations between them with non-classical space-time properties known as quantum entanglement. In physics, entanglement is a critical resource for powering quantum technologies but is difficult to generate, maintain, and measure in organic nanostructures. We provide experimental evidence suggesting how a sequence of ultrashort laser pulses can create pairs of entangled particles that carry spin information across space much like the entangled photon pairs in the famous Einstein-Podolsky-Roden “paradox.” Here, this occurs along the backbones of long polydiacetylene molecules and carotenoid aggregates. Our results provide a surprising experimental scheme for future studies of quantum non-locality in solid-state organics and elucidate the exciting links between molecular quantum information, thermodynamics, and enhanced energy harvesting in processes such as singlet-exciton fission.
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