The photoinduced dynamics of X[M(dmit)₂]₂ salts

We review our work on the photoinduced dynamics of X[M(dmit)₂]₂ salts in the charge-separated (CS) phase from the viewpoints of both electronic structural change and lattice or molecular structural change. The driving force for the CS phase formation is a strong correlation among the charge distribution, orbital energies, and the molecular structure; this is in contrast to frequently studied charge-ordered systems such as EDOTTF₂PF₆, whose formation is mainly driven by the intersite Coulomb repulsion. Despite the localized nature of the structural component, the cooperativity inherent to the crystal is likely to play an important role in photoinduced phenomena. In this review, we summarize the results obtained by a series of optical pump-probe experiments on this class of materials. We have also recently extended these studies using ultrafast electron diffraction to follow the nuclear motion in one of these systems. Such information is crucial for a full understanding of the photoinduced phenomena and it is anticipated that combining the results of the optical and diffraction studies will lead to more fruitful insight than either technique can offer in isolation. (paper)