The intermediate coupling regime for electronic energy transfer is of particular interest because excitation moves in space, as in a classical hopping mechanism, but quantum phase information is conserved. We conducted an ultrafast polarization experiment specifically designed to observe quantum coherent dynamics in this regime. Conjugated polymer samples with different chain conformations were examined as model multichromophoric systems. The data, recorded at room temperature, reveal coherent intrachain (but not interchain) electronic energy transfer. Our results suggest that quantum transport effects occur at room temperature when chemical donor-acceptor bonds help to correlate dephasing perturbations.

One of the most surprising and significant advances in the study of the photosynthetic light-harvesting process is the discovery that the electronic energy transfer might involve long-lived electronic coherences, under physiologically relevant conditions. This means that the transfer of energy among different chromophores does not follow the expected classical incoherent hopping mechanism, but that quantum-mechanical laws can steer the migration of energy. The implications of such a quantum transport regime, although currently under debate, might have a tremendous impact on our way of thinking about natural and artificial light-harvesting. Central to these discoveries has been the development of new ultrafast spectroscopic techniques, in particular two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy, which is now the primary tool to obtain clear and definitive experimental proof of such effects. This review aims to provide an overview of the experimental techniques developed with the purpose of attaining a more detailed picture of the coherent and incoherent quantum dynamics relevant to energy transfer processes, not limited to the two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy. With the idea of summarizing the experimental and theoretical basic notions necessary to introduce the field, the connection between experimental observables and coherence dynamics will be analysed in detail for each technique, highlighting how electronic coherences could be manifested in different experimental signatures. Similarities and differences among coherent signals as well as advantages and disadvantages of each approach will be critically discussed. Current opinions and debated issues will be emphasised and some possible future directions to address still open questions will be suggested.

2D electronic spectroscopy (2DES) techniques have gained particular interest given their capability of following ultrafast coherent and noncoherent processes in real-time. Although the fame of 2DES is still majorly linked to the investigation of energy and charge transport in biological light-harvesting complexes, 2DES is now starting to be recognized as a particularly valuable tool for studying transport processes in artificial nanomaterials and nanodevices. Particularly meaningful is the possibility of assessing coherent mechanisms active in the transport of excitation energy in these materials toward possible quantum technology applications. The diverse nature of these new target samples poses significant challenges and calls for a critical rethinking of the technique and its different realizations. With the confluence of promising new applications and rapidly developing technical capabilities, the enormous potential of 2DES techniques to impact the field of nanosystems, quantum technologies, and quantum devices is here delineated.