Perylene derivatives are robust organic dyes absorbing and emitting light in the visible range and in the near infrared. Perylene and its derivatives have attracted significant interest as active layers for light harvesting, photovoltaics, and photoinduced charge and energy transfer processes.

In order to increase their efficiency and stability, these materials have been studied quite intensively. In particular, their possible application in solar-cells needs insight into optical excitation and charge transport processes. The performance of these materials as charge or energy transport materials does not arise exclusively from the electronic properties of the individual molecules, but it depends as well on favorable intermolecular interactions, such as π-stacking.

This talk will give a brief introduction to these materials and an insight in the processes behind their optical properties. These properties are fundamental to understanding why perylene materials have the colors that they have.

by numerical examples based on real-world data.