Molecular Polygons Probe the Role of Intramolecular Strain in the Photophysics of [pi]-Conjugated Chromophores

π-Conjugated segments, chromophores, are the electronically active units of polymer materials used in organic electronics. To elucidate the effect of the bending of these linear moieties on elementary electronic properties, such as luminescence color and radiative rate, we introduce a series of mole...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2017-01, Vol.56 (5), p.1234
Main Authors: Wilhelm, Philipp, Vogelsang, Jan, Poluektov, Georgiy, Schonfelder, Nina, Keller, Tristan J, Jester, Stefan-Sven, Hoger, Sigurd, Lupton, John M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Chromophores
Dipole moments
Fluorescence
Localization
Polygons
Polyimide resins
Radiation
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:π-Conjugated segments, chromophores, are the electronically active units of polymer materials used in organic electronics. To elucidate the effect of the bending of these linear moieties on elementary electronic properties, such as luminescence color and radiative rate, we introduce a series of molecular polygons. The π-system in these molecules becomes so distorted in bichromophores (digons) that these absorb and emit light of arbitrary polarization: any part of the chain absorbs and emits radiation with equal probability. Bending leads to a cancellation of transition dipole moment (TDM), increasing excited-state lifetime. Simultaneously, fluorescence shifts to the red as radiative transitions require mixing of the excited state with vibrational modes. However, strain can become so large that excited-state localization on shorter units of the chain occurs, compensating TDM cancellation. The underlying correlations between shape and photophysics can only be resolved in single molecules.
ISSN:1433-7851
1521-3773
DOI:10.1002/anie.201610723