Single Lévy States–Disorder Induced Energy Funnels in Molecular Aggregates

Abstract

Using fluorescence super-resolution microscopy we studied simultaneous spectral, spatial localization, and blinking behavior of individual 1D J-aggregates. Excitons migrating 100 nm are funneled to a trap appearing as an additional red-shifted blinking fluorescence band. We propose that the trap is a Frenkel exciton state formed much below the main exciton band edge due to an environmentally induced heavy-tailed Lévy disorder. This points to disorder engineering as a new avenue in controlling light-harvesting in molecular ensembles.