Effect of Polymer Composition on the Optical Properties of a New Aggregation-Induced Emission Fluorophore: A Combined Experimental and Computational Approach

Nowadays, fluorophores with a tetraphenylethylene (TPE) core are considered interesting due to the aggregation-induced emission (AIE) behavior that enables their effective use in polymer films. We propose a novel TPE fluorophore (TPE-BPAN) bearing two dimethylamino push and a 4-biphenylacetonitrile...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polymers 2023-08, Vol.15 (17), p.3530
Main Authors: Picchi, Alberto, Wang, Qinfan, Ventura, Francesco, Micheletti, Cosimo, Heijkoop, Jesse, Picchioni, Francesco, Ciofini, Ilaria, Adamo, Carlo, Pucci, Andrea
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Chemical compounds
Chemical Sciences
Composition
Copolymers
Density functional theory
Density functionals
Emission
Energy
Ions
Mathematical analysis
Optical properties
Polymer films
Polymers
Solvents
Surface stability
Citations: Items that this one cites
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Summary:Nowadays, fluorophores with a tetraphenylethylene (TPE) core are considered interesting due to the aggregation-induced emission (AIE) behavior that enables their effective use in polymer films. We propose a novel TPE fluorophore (TPE-BPAN) bearing two dimethylamino push and a 4-biphenylacetonitrile pull moieties with the typical AIE characteristics in solution and in the solid state, as rationalized by DFT calculations. Five different host polymer matrices with different polarity have been selected: two homopolymers of poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) and poly(cyclohexyl methacrylate) (PCHMA) and three copolymers at different compositions (P(MMA-co-CHMA) 75:25, 50:50, and 25:75 mol%). The less polar comonomer of CHMA appeared to enhance TPE-BPAN emission with the highest quantum yield (QY) of about 40% measured in P(MMA-co-CHMA) 75:25. Further reduction in polymer polarity lowered QY and decreased the film stability and adhesion to the glass surface. LSC performances were not significantly affected by the matrix’s polarity and resulted in around one-third of the state-of-the-art due to the reduced QY of TPE-BPAN. The theoretical investigation based on density functional theory (DFT) calculations clarified the origin of the observed AIE and the role played by the environment in modulating the photophysical behavior.
ISSN:2073-4360
2073-4360
DOI:10.3390/polym15173530