A single-molecule approach to conformation and photophysics of conjugated polymers

This Letter provides a short overview of the current status and some recent developments in the study of photophysical properties of conjugated polymers on the level of individual chains by single-molecule spectroscopy. The emphasis is put on the relationship between conformation which is determined directly for individual chains and the resulting photophysics. Some of the phenomena covered include the processes of exciton localization and subsequent exciton dissociation, fluorescence blinking and its possible origins, and direct imaging of exciton localization domains. Most of the work has been done on poly(phenylene vinylene) and polythiophene families of conjugated polymers at room temperature.