Recent advances in instrumentation for absolute emission quantum yield measurements

The fluorescence and phosphorescence quantum yields (Φ) of standard solutions have been re-evaluated based on an absolute method using an integrating sphere equipped with a multichannel spectrometer. We have examined in detail the Φ value of ruthenium(II) tris(2,2′-bipyridine) complex which have been often used as the standards in the determination of quantum yields of transition-metal complexes. This revealed that the Φ values for [Ru(bpy)₃]²⁺ were 0.063 in deaerated H₂O, 0.040 in aerated H₂O, 0.095 in deaerated CH₃CN, and 0.018 in aerated CH₃CN, respectively, which are significantly higher than the previously accepted values.We have also examined the technical aspects in the determination of absolute emission quantum yields for lanthanide complexes and those of organic crystals of anthracene. For the accurate determination for lanthanide complexes, special care must be taken in the spectroscopic measurements because of their narrow absorption and emission bands. For organic crystals, the fluorescence quantum yields are reduced due to reabsorption, chemical impurities and structural defects. Our observations for highly purified anthracene crystals revealed that the lower limit value of Φ was 0.64.     

High quantum yield blue emission from water-soluble Au8 nanodots

Prepared within biocompatible poly(amidoamine) dendrimer hosts, blue emitting Au8 nanodots were prepared with fluorescence quantum yields more than 100 times larger than any previously prepared. The strong size-dependent blue emission from these from monodisperse Au8 nanodots was measured to be 41% in aqueous solution and 52% in methanol. These easily prepared, water-soluble, and high quantum yield gold nanodots lend insight into the molecular nature of small metal nanoclusters and may find application as novel biocompatible fluorophores.     

高量子产率水溶性CdTe量子点的制备与表征

以巯基乙酸(HSCH2 COOH,TGA)为稳定剂,在水相中合成高量子产率CdTe量子点(QDs),产率达68%.用紫外.可见分光光度计、荧光分光光度计、红外光谱仪、透射电子显微镜等对制备的样品进行表征.结果表明:CdTe Ods紫外吸收峰及荧光发射峰均随回流时间延长而红移,即粒径在不断增大;荧光发射峰窄而对称,表明QDs分散性好、大小较均一,半峰宽随回流时间延长而逐渐变宽,表明粒径在增大的同时粒径分布范围也变宽;从TEM及紫外.可见光谱推算,可知其粒径约为3 nm;红外光谱图说明作为稳定剂的巯基乙酸对QDs表面起到修饰作用.     

Control of photoluminescence quantum yield and long-lived triplet emission lifetime in organic alloys

Two-component crystalline organic alloys with a wide range of compositional ratios (from 30% to 90% of one component) are employed to tune excited-state lifetimes and photoluminescence quantum yields (PLQYs). Alloy crystals exhibit homogeneous distribution of parent compounds by X-ray crystallography and differential scanning calorimetry. The alloys display a 1.5- to 5-fold enhancement in thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) lifetime, compared to the parent compounds. PLQYs can also be tuned by changing alloy composition. The reverse intersystem crossing and long-lived lifetime of the parent compounds give rise to long-lived TADF in the alloys. Organic alloys enable tunability of both lifetime and efficiency, providing a new perspective on the development of organic long-lived emissive materials beyond the rules established for host–guest doped systems.

Two structurally similar organic triplet emitters crystallize together to form organic alloys in varying ratios, exhibiting tunable photoluminescence quantum yields and long-lived TADF.     

Simple cuprous iodide complex‐based crystals with deep blue emission and high photoluminescence quantum yield up to 100%

Luminescent cuprous complexes have attracted much attention due to their low cost, rich photophysical properties, and hence extensive applications in various fields. In this work, we report the synthesis, structure and photophysical properties of a simple and highly efficient deep blue emission cuprous iodide complex, namely CuI (PPh₃)₂(t‐BuPy), where PPh₃ and t‐BuPy stand for triphenylphosphine and 4‐tert‐butylpyridine, respectively. The complex was synthesized with a one‐pot method, and showed a super high photoluminescence quantum yield up to 100% and a maximum emission wavelength at 454 nm in crystals at room temperature. Based on density functional theory calculation, the emission likely comes from iodide to 4‐tert‐butylpyridine charge transfer and some copper to 4‐tert‐butylpyridine charge transfer excited states. Two reference complexes, CuI (PPh₃)₂(IQu) (IQu = isoquinoline) and Cu₂I₂(PPh₃)₂(t‐BuPy)₂, were also synthesized, and the photophysical properties of the three compounds in various forms such as crystalline powder, thin film and solution at both room temperature and 77 K were studied for comparison. These results give clues on how the N‐heteroaromatic ligand (4‐tert‐butylpyridine vs. isoquinoline), coordinating style (mononuclear vs. binuclear), sample form (crystalline powder vs. thin film vs. solution) and temperature (room temperature vs. 77 K) affect the photophysical properties of luminescent cuprous iodide complex.     

Oriented bacterial cellulose for achieving high carbon yield through pre-stretching

Cellulose - Bacterial cellulose (BC) has the advantage of biodegradability but suffers from the disadvantage of low carbon residue rate, which significantly restricts its further application as...     

Enhanced electron field emission properties of high aspect ratio silicon nanowire-zinc oxide core-shell arrays

The enhanced electron field emission (EFE) properties of high aspect ratio, vertically aligned SiNW-ZnO core-shell arrays are presented. These core-shell arrays are prepared by a thin, controlled, highly crystalline and conformal coating of zinc oxide as shell using the plasma assisted-atomic layer deposition (PA-ALD) route on vertically aligned silicon nanowire arrays core. The core-shell nanostuctures are confirmed by HRTEM imaging along with the individual elemental mapping demonstrating the conformal deposition of 10 nm ZnO on the SiNWs. EFE properties of va-SiNW-ZnO core-shell arrays showed a high emission current density of 51 μA cm(-2) and a low turn on field of 7.6 V μm(-1) (defined at a current density of 1 μA cm(-2)) compared to the 3.2 μA cm(-2) emission current density and 9.1 V μm(-1) turn on field for SiNWs. The field enhancement factor (β) of 4227 for the devices demonstrates that these core-shell nanowire arrays are excellent field-emitters. Such an enhancement in the field emission originates from the details of the band structure of this peculiar material combination resulting in good electron transport from SiNW to ZnO as evident from the band diagram of the core-shell material. This is further supported by the conducting AFM studies where lowering in threshold voltage by 1 eV confirms the role of ZnO coating in the enhancement of the emission characteristics.     

Multiple dot-in-rod PbS/CdS heterostructures with high photoluminescence quantum yield in the near-infrared

Pb cations in PbS quantum rods made from CdS quantum rods by successive complete cationic exchange reactions are partially re-exchanged for Cd cations. Using STEM-HAADF, we show that this leads to the formation of unique multiple dot-in-rod PbS/CdS heteronanostructures, with a photoluminescence quantum yield of 45-55%. We argue that the formation of multiple dot-in-rods is related to the initial polycrystallinity of the PbS quantum rods, where each PbS crystallite transforms in a separate PbS/CdS dot-in-dot. Effective mass modeling indicates that electronic coupling between the different PbS conduction band states is feasible for the multiple dot-in-rod geometries obtained, while the hole states remain largely uncoupled.     

Lanthanide 8-hydroxyquinoline-based podates with efficient emission in the NIR range

The novel hydroxyquinoline-containing tetrapodal ligand forms water soluble and stable chelates and is a good sensitizer of the NIR luminescence of its Nd(III) and Yb(III) complexes; its easy synthesis opens the way for potential biomedical applications.     

Barium induced modulation of NIR emission in a neodymium cryptate complex

The complex [NdL](III) is based upon a crown ether-appended ditopic cryptate ligand and demonstrates a near-infrared fluorescence response to Ba(II).     

Long-lived charge-separated state generated in a ferrocene-meso,meso-linked porphyrin trimer-fullerene pentad with a high quantum yield

A meso,meso-linked porphyrin trimer, (ZnP)3, as a light-harvesting chromophore, has been incorporated for the first time into a photosynthetic multistep electron-transfer model including ferrocene (Fc) as an electron donor and fullerene (C60) as an electron acceptor, to construct the ferrocene-meso,meso-linked porphyrin trimer-fullerene system Fc-(ZnP)3-C60. Photoirradiation of Fc-(ZnP)3-C60 results in photoinduced electron transfer from both the singlet and triplet excited states of the porphyrin trimer, 1(ZnP)3* and 3(ZnP)3*, to the C60 moiety to produce the porphyrin trimer radical cation-C60 radical anion pair, Fc-(ZnP)3*+-C60*-. Subsequent formation of the final charge-separated state Fc+-(ZnP)3-C60*- was confirmed by the transient absorption spectra observed by pico- and nanosecond time-resolved laser flash photolysis. The final charge-separated state decays, obeying first-order kinetics, with a long lifetime (0.53 s in DMF at 163 K) that is comparable with that of the natural bacterial photosynthetic reaction center. More importantly, the quantum yield of formation of the final charge-separated state (0.83 in benzonitrile) remains high, despite the large separation distance between the Fc+ and C60*- moieties. Such a high quantum yield results from efficient charge separation through the porphyrin trimer, whereas a slow charge recombination is associated with the localized porphyrin radical cation in the porphyrin trimer. The light-harvesting efficiency in the visible region has also been much improved in Fc-(ZnP)3-C60 because of exciton coupling in the porphyrin trimer as well as an increase in the number of porphyrins.     

Eu(III) complex-doped PMMA having fast radiation rate and high emission quantum efficiency

Three ternary luminescent complexes, Eu (deuterated 1,3-diphenyl-1,3-propanedione)₃(1,10-phenanthroline), Eu (deuterated 1,3-diphenyl-1,3-propanedione)₃(2,2′-bipyridine), and Eu (deuterated 1,3-diphenyl-1,3-propanedione)₃ (bathophenanthroline) were synthesized using bidental oxygen and nitrogen as ligands. Luminescent polymers were fabricated by incorporating deuterated Eu(III) complexes in a poly(methyl methacrylate) matrix. Luminescent poly(methyl methacrylate) containing Eu (deuterated 1,3-diphenyl-1,3-propanedione)₃ (bathophenanthroline) exhibited relatively higher quantum yield, faster radiation rate, sharper red emission and larger stimulated emission cross-section (quantum yield 36%, radiation rate 8.6 × 10² s^?1, full width at half maximum 3.4 nm, and stimulated emission cross-section σ _p = 1.4 × 10^?20 cm²) of the PMMA matrix. The value of σ _p was the same order as the values of Nd-glass laser for practical use. Additionally, the thermal behaviors of the Eu(III) ternary complexes were studied, and the results indicated that all of them can be long-term used in high temperature environment. Prepared luminescent polymer including Eu (deuterated 1,3-diphenyl-1,3-propanedione)₃ (bathophenanthroline) showed promising results for applications in novel organic Eu(III) devices, such as high-power laser materials and optical fibers.     

Mechanisms in the quantum yield of Cypridina bioluminescence

Abstract— –The influence of temperature, pH, salts, and reactant concentrations on the biolumin-escent oxidation of Cypridina luciferin catalyzed by Cypridina luciferase indicates a highest quantum yield φ (einsteins per mole of luciferin oxidized) of 0.31 in H₂O, or 0.33 in 99% D₂O. With the aid of data on fluorescence of the light-emitting oxyluciferin-luciferase complex, and of oxyluciferin in diglyme, partial explanations are suggested for the observed variations in φ, including the relatively low φ, of 0.03 for chemiluminescence of luciferin in organic solvents, wherein a different pathway of luciferin degradation, as indicated by chromatographic evidence, results in much less population of the excited state.     

The concept of constant emission yield in GDOES

This review paper describes the evolution of the quantification procedure for compositional depth profiling (CDP) in glow discharge optical emission spectrometry (GD-OES), based on the constant emission yield concept. The concept of emission yield (EY) is defined and ways of measuring it experimentally are discussed. The history of the development of quantitative CDP is reviewed, which shows that all of the different approaches depend on the assumption that the EY is essentially a matrix-independent quantity. Particular emphasis is placed on the dependence of the EY on the plasma parameters of current, voltage, power and pressure. In short, impedance changes (current voltage) can significantly affect the emission yield and should either be corrected mathematically or the impedance should be kept constant by pressure regulation in order to obtain reliable results from GDOES CDP. On the other hand, the effect of varying the pressure on the emission yield can be considered to be minor within the limits of practical operating conditions for most CDP applications. It is worth, however, bearing in mind that varying the discharge pressure has a significant effect on the plasma processes, and does affect the emission yield when these variations are large. The experimental results obtained for the emission yield are related to the results from theoretical model calculations published on the subject.     

Synthesis and optical properties of perylene diimide derivatives with triphenylene-based dendrons linked at the bay positions through a conjugated ethynyl linkage

A number of groups including trimethylsilyl, phenyl, triphenylene, and triphenylene-based dendron have been linked to the bay positions of a perylene diimide (PDI) core through an ethynyl bridge. The photophysical properties of the resulting bay-substituted PDI derivatives have been carefully studied in different solvents and as thin films. Without any capping group, the two ethynyl bay-substituted PDI derivates PAT and PRT both aggregate strongly even in dilute solutions but in different perylene-perylene π–π stacking modes; PRT aggregates through slipped (or longitudinal) stacking while PAT self-assembles by rotational (or cross) stacking. With capping groups, the perylene core stacking is completely blocked for PATS in both solution and solid film. For PRTS, the slipped stacking is observed only for its film sample, while for PTB, association only occurs after excitation (excimer formation). When triphenylene or triphenylene-based G1 dendron is attached to the acetylene bridge, the resulting donor–acceptor systems (PTG0 and PTG1) exhibit strong electronic coupling between the dendritic donors and the PDI acceptor, leading to significantly red-shifted absorption bands. The conjugated linkage also facilitates photoinduced electron transfer from the triphenylene or triphenylene dendron to the PDI core, effectively quenching fluorescence emissions of both the donor and the acceptor. The significantly red-shifted absorption bands and the efficient photoinduced electron transfer observed on PTG0 and PTG1 indicate that these new PDI derivatives may find applications in solar cells.     

Thermoluminescence and temperature effects on delayed light emission (corrected for changes in quantum yield of fluorescence) in DCMU-treated algae

Abstract—

• 1 The simultaneous measurements of delayed light emission (DLE) and chlorophyll (Chl) fluorescence yield in DCMU§ treated Chlorella were made in the time range of 1 to 10 sec at various temperatures from 0 to 50°C. Similar measurements were made for DCMU treated thermophilic strain of Synechococcus in the temperature range of 0 to 75°C.
• 2 Using the basic assumption that DLE is produced by the back reaction of primary photoproducts of system II, and that two such reactions are required for it, a linear relationship between J^-1/2 (where J is energy per unit time available for DLE) and time after illumination was derived. This second-order relationship was confirmed experimentally at several temperatures (2°, 5°, 10° and 15°C). From these analyses, reaction rate decay constants, at specific temperatures, were calculated.
• 3 An Arrhenius plot was made for these calculated rate constants. Its slope (8–10 kcal/mole) agreed well with previous reports; however, it had a region of zero slope which occurred at the physiological temperature of the organisms used.
• 4 Thermoluminescence or temperature jump delayed light emission (TDLE) was measured using various temperature conditions and it was found that not only the magnitude of the temperature jump (ΔT), but the initial and final temperatures of the sample were important. For example, a temperature jump of 8°C from 2 to 10°C gave much higher TDLE than from 12 to 20°C.
• 5 Many properties e.g., magnitude, temperature dependence and time independence of TDLE could be explained by the DLE decay data (corrected for changes in fluorescence yield) and the kinetic analysis.
• 6 It is suggested that, in addition to the back reaction of Z⁺ (the primary oxidized photoproduct of system II) with Q^- (the primary reduced photoproduct of system II), a reducing entity, beyond the sites of DCMU and antimycin a action, is somehow involved in the production of slow DLE.