Quenching luminescent conjugated polymers

Yan M, Rothberg L, Papadimitrakopoulos F, Galvin M, Miller T (1994) Defect quenching of conjugated polymer luminescence. Phys Rev Lett 73 744-747... 

The role of disorder in the photophysics of conjugated polymers has been extensively described by the work carried out in Marburg by H. Bassler and coworkers. Based on ultrafast photoluminescence (PL) (15], field-induced luminescence quenching [16J and site-selective PL excitation [17], a model for excited state thermalizalion was proposed, which considers interchain exciton migration within the inhomogenously broadened density of states. We will base part of the interpretation of our results in m-LPPP on this model, which will be discussed in some detail in Sections 8.4 and 8.6. 

Although the exact mechanism of the fluorenone formation is not known, it is believed that the monoalkylated fluorene moieties, present as impurities in poly(dialkylfluorenes), are the sites most sensitive to oxidation. The deprotonation of rather acidic C(9)—H protons by residue on Ni(0) catalyst, routinely used in polymerization or by metal (e.g., calcium) cathode in LED devices form a very reactive anion, which can easily react with oxygen to form peroxides (Scheme 2.26) [293], The latter are unstable species and can decompose to give the fluorenone moiety. It should also be noted that the interaction of low work-function metals with films of conjugated polymers in PLED is a more complex phenomenon and the mechanisms of the quenching of PF luminescence by a calcium cathode was studied by Stoessel et al. [300],... 

Ley and Schanze have also examined the luminescence properties of the polymers Pq, Pio> P25> and P50 in solution at 298 K, and in a 2-methyltetrahydro-furan solvent glass at 77 K. These spectroscopic studies reveal that fluorescence from the 71,71" exciton state is observed at Amax=443 nm, 2.80 eV in the polymers P0-P50 at 298 and 77 K, but the intensity and lifetime of the fluorescence is quenched as the mole fraction of Re in the polymers is increased. This indicates that the metal chromophore quenches the 71,71" state. The quenching is inefficient even when the mole fraction is large, suggesting that interchain diffusion of the 71,71" exciton is slow compared to its lifetime [70]. Phosphorescence from the 71,71" state of the conjugated polymer backbone is observed at > max=b43 nm, 1.93 eV in P10-P50 at 77 K, and emission at Amax=690 nm, 1.8 eV is assigned to the d7i(Re) 7i oiy MLCT transition. 

In another approach, a fluorescent conjugated polymer was used as the material for the preparation of a chemosensor to detect 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) and its related nitroaromatic compounds. To this end, microparticles, made of three-dimensionally cross-linked poly(l,4-phenylene vinylene) (PPV) via emulsion polymerization, were synthesized [61]. This material was chosen due to its high fluorescence intensity and sensitivity to changes in its microenvironment. The chemosensor was exposed to vapour containing different amounts of TNT and quenching of the polymer luminescence at 560 nm was observed after excitation at 430 nm. The dependence of the fluorescence signal in response to the analyte was described by a modified Stem-Volmer equation that assumes the existence of two different cavity types. The authors proposed the modified Stem-Volmer equation as follows ... 

Long-lived photoluminescence, at 826 nm, is reported (t 15 (is) for thin films of the processable, -conjugated polymer, poly(3-hexylthio-phene) (93JA8447). Excitation of the n—n transition with 518 nm light (So >S ) yields only very weak luminescence of 826-nm light, even at 18 K. The emission is enhanced, to point where it can be observed at room temperature, when the excitation wavelength is 250 nm, but it is completely quenched by oxygen. Prompt fluorescence decays within... 

R Jakubiak, CJ Collison, WC Wan, LJ Rothberg, BR Hsieh. Aggregation quenching of luminescence in electroluminescent conjugated polymers. J Phys Chem A 103 14, 2394-2398, 1999. 

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