We present an x-ray absorption spectroscopy study from the carbon $K$, sulfur $K$, and sulfur $L_{2,3}$ edges of crystalline oligothiophenes of varying length, i.e., bithiophene (2T), quaterthiophene (4T), and sexithiophene (6T), performed from first principles by means of all-electron density-functional theory and many-body perturbation theory. A comprehensive assignment of all relevant spectral features is performed based on the electronic structure and the character of the target conduction states. The inclusion of electron-hole effects leads to significant redistribution of oscillator strengths and to strongly bound excitons with binding energies ranging from 1.5 eV to 4.5 eV. When going from 2T to 6T, exciton binding energies decrease by up to 1 eV, which we attribute to the reduction of the average Coulomb attraction with increasing oligomer length. These high values are significantly larger than their counterparts in the optical excitations of these systems and indicative of their localization on the respective molecules. For the same reason, local-field effects which typically dominate the optical absorption of organic crystals turn out to play only a negligible role at all edges. We identify two sets of carbon atoms, i.e., with or without sulfur bonding, which exhibit distinct features at the C $K$ edge. The sulfur atoms, on the other hand, yield similar contributions in the S, $K$, and $L_{2,3}$ edge spectra. Our results show excellent agreement with available experimental data.

• Received 25 April 2023
• Accepted 6 February 2024

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevMaterials.8.024603