Solid State Solvation Effect

Emission and absorption spectra of many organic dyes in liquid solutions depend on the local electric fields generated by the surrounding polar solvent molecules. This “solvation effect” is a result of intermolecular solutesolvent interaction forces (such as dipole-dipole or dipole-induced dipole) that tend to stretch molecular bonds and shift charge distribution on molecules, altering the energy difference between the ground and excited states of the solute. Our experiments confirmed that the solvation effect is also present in molecular solids where closely packed polar molecules can generate large local electric fields. In the following two studies we develop a theoretical framework describing the effect.