Lifetime determination of fluorescence and phosphorescence of a series of oligofluorenes

The photoluminescence (PL) properties of oligofluorenes with 2-ethylhexyl group in 9, 9' position in solution and as thin films were investigated by time-resolved techniques at both room temperature and 77 K. The fluorescence lifetimes of the oligomers decrease with chain length. The lifetimes tau follow the relation tau=386+808(1/n) (ps) where n is the number of fluorene units in the oligomer. Concentration and laser excitation energy dependences of PL spectra of the oligofluorenes are also given. Phosphorescence was observed for oligofluorenes in the frozen matrix of MTHF at 77 K. The lifetime of phosphorescence increases with increasing molecular length. Similar emission bands were observed for oligofluorenes with a central ketogroup. A lifetime analysis clearly reveals that the "green emission" of the oligomers free of ketogroups results from a phosphorescence with lifetime tau of 3 ms while the green emission from the keto-oligomer is a fluorescence from a charge transfer pi-pi* level of tau=8 ns.     

Macrospirocyclic oligomers based on carbazole and fluorene

Monodisperse macrospirocyclic oligomers were prepared using self-condensation of the Friedel-Crafts reaction. Through the C-9s of the central fluorene units of four surrounding oligofluorenes, four carbazole units are connected in a series to form a macrocyclic core. These rodlike oligofluorenes form a rigid three-dimensional structure, affording the resulting macrocyclics a high steric hindrance for close interchain packing.     

主链含四重氢键基元聚氨酯的合成与性能

合成了一种新型含有UPy(2-ureido-4[1H]-pyrimidone)基团的二羟基化合物,以此二羟基化合物作扩链剂,通过与聚氨酯预聚体进行的扩链反应,制备了一系列主链含UPy的聚氨酯(PU-UPy).傅里叶红外光谱(FTIR)、氢核磁共振(1H-NMR)等测试结果表明,在聚氨酯主链中确实含有UPy链段.同时,热性能及力学性能测试表明,聚氨酯中的UPy二聚体会集聚而形成微晶,熔点在60℃附近.在聚氨酯主链中引入UPy,能大幅提高聚氨酯的力学性能,调整软段的分子量,以及在主链中UPy含量可改变聚氨酯弹性体的断裂伸长率和抗张强度.     

Fluorene‐Based π‐Conjugated Oligomers for Efficient Three‐Photon Excited Photoluminescence and Lasing

A novel series of diphenylamino‐ and 1,2,4‐triazole‐end‐capped, fluorene‐based, π‐conjugated oligomers that includes extended oligofluorenes and oligothienylfluorenes has been synthesized by means of the palladium‐catalyzed Suzuki cross‐coupling of 9,9‐dibutyl‐7‐(diphenylamino)‐2‐fluorenylboronic acid and the corresponding 1,2,4,‐triazole‐based aryl halide as a key step. It was demonstrated that efficient two‐ and three‐photon excited photoluminescence and lasing in the blue region are obtained by pumping near‐infrared femtosecond lasers on these materials. Although the absorption and emission maxima of the highly fluorescent and extended oligofluorenes reach a saturation limit, there exists an effective conjugation length for an optimum three‐photon absorption cross section in the homologous oligofluorene series. On the other hand, the multiphoton excited emission spectrum and lasing wavelength can easily be modified or tuned by an incorporation of thienyl unit(s) into the fluorene‐based π‐conjugated core with which exceptionally large three‐photon absorption cross sections up to 3.59×10^?77 cm⁶ s² in the femtosecond regime have been obtained, thereby highlighting the potential of this series of photonic materials. The optimized full width at half‐maximum of the cavityless three‐photon upconverted blue lasing spectra are sharply narrowed to approximately 6 nm with an efficiency of up to 0.013 %.     

Synthesis, characterization, and application of cationic water-soluble oligofluorenes in DNA-hybridization detection

A simple and efficient approach was developed for the synthesis of a series of cationic water-soluble oligofluorenes up to a chain length of a heptamer. Bromoalkyl-substituted fluorenyl boronic esters as the key intermediates were synthesized by using a modified Miyaura reaction. With an increasing number of repeat units (trimer to hexamer), the size-specific oligomers have shown redshifts in both the absorption and emission maxima. The emission maximum reaches the limit for the hexamer in both water and buffer solution. The quantum yields of the oligomers decreased with increased oligomer size in water. Both fluorescence quenching of the oligomers by 9,10-anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate and the fluorescence resonance energy transfer experiments with the oligomers as the donor and fluorescein (Fl)-labeled double-stranded DNA (dsDNA-Fl) as the acceptor revealed the chain-length-dependent behavior. The Stern-Volmer quenching constant increased with the molecular size, whereas the highest donor-sensitized Fl emission was observed for the hexamer. These size-specific oligomers also served as a model to study the structure-property relationships for cationic polyfluorenes.     

A facile route to ureidopyrimidinone‐functionalized polymers via RAFT

Three new ureidopyrimidinone(UPy)‐functionalized chain‐transfer agents (CTAs) have been synthesized for use in reversible addition‐fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. These UPy‐CTAs are able to polymerize a wide variety of vinyl monomers to yield UPy‐functionalized polymers, including homopolymers, block copolymers, and amphiphilic block copolymers. These polymers have been characterized via ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy, gel permeation chromatography (GPC), UV/visible spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to demonstrate end‐group fidelity. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2010     

9,9′-螺双芴的光电性能

采用密度泛函理论(DFT)-B3LYP/6-31G(d)方法对9,9'-螺双芴低聚物[(SBF)_n(n=1-4)]体系进行全优化,得到各分子的最高占据轨道(HOMO)和最低空轨道(LUMO)能量及HOMO-LUMO能隙,结果表明各分子整体表现出很好的共轭性质.并在分子的阳离子和阴离子状态的优化结构基础上,计算得到电离势(IP)、电子亲和势(EA)、空穴抽取能(HEP)、电子抽取能(EEP)和重组能等相关能量.利用单激发组态相瓦作用(CIS)/3-21G方法优化得到9,9'-螺双芴单体的S_1激发态的几何构型.用含时密度泛函理论(TD-DFT)方法计算得到了分子吸收光谱和荧光光谱的相关数据.随着聚合长度的增加,能隙变窄,空穴注入和电子转移的能力都相应提高,吸收光所需能量减小,吸收强度(f)增大,光谱红移.采用线性外推法,利用低聚物分子的各种性质与聚合度n之间的关系,得到高聚物的相应性质.为考察9位螺芴化的影响,将(SBF)_n的相关性质与母体芴的低聚物[(FL)_n(n=1-4)]进行比较,由两者的计算结果对比显示,在芴的9位螺芴化可以提高电子和空穴的传输能力,并同时保留芴优良的发光性质.     

Synthesis, structure, and photophysical and electrochemical properties of a pi-stacked polymer

Dibenzofulvene (DBF) was polymerized using anionic initiators to afford a vinyl polymer. Oligo(DBF)s having from two to eight side-chain fluorene moieties bearing different chain-terminal groups were isolated by preparative size-exclusion chromatography. The structures of the isolated oligomers were revealed by single-crystal X-ray and (1)H NMR analyses. Both in solution and in crystal, the in-chain fluorene moieties stacked on top of each other, while the terminal conformation varied depending on the terminal group. These conformational characteristics were supported by molecular mechanics and dynamics calculations. The oligomers and polymers indicated hypochromism and red shift in UV absorption spectra and exclusive excimer emission in fluorescence spectra. In addition, reduced oxidation potentials were observed for the oligomers in electrochemical analyses, which suggests charge delocalization over the pi-stacked electron systems. The photophysical and electrochemical effects increased with the chain length of the oligomers and leveled off around the chain length of an oligomer consisting of five fluorene units.     

Synthesis and photophysical properties of monodisperse oligo(9,9-di-n-octylfluorene-2,7-vinylene)s functionalized anthracenes

Four new well-defined monodisperse linear oligofluorenes with anthracene core An-OFVn (n = 1-4) have been synthesized through Heck and Wittig reaction. These conjugated oligomers exhibit good solubility in common organic solvents. It is found that the conjugation length of the oligomers can be extended and the formation of excimers can be suppressed with increasing the number of fluorene-vinylene units linked in the 9,10-positions of anthracene.     

Carbazole compounds as host materials for triplet emitters in organic light-emitting diodes: tuning the HOMO level without influencing the triplet energy in small molecules

A series of novel carbazole compounds was synthesized and tested for their suitability as host for triplet emitters in an organic-light emitting diode (OLED). In these compounds, a carbazole unit is either connected to other carbazole units to form carbazole dimers and trimers or to fluorene and oxadiazole derivatives to form mixed compounds. The HOMO level of carbazole compounds can be tuned by substitution at the 3, 6, and/or 9 positions. Making oligomers by connecting carbazole molecules via their 3 (3') positions shifts the HOMO level to higher energy, while replacing alkyl groups at the 9 (9') positions by aryl groups shifts the HOMO level to lower energy. Furthermore, it has been found that the triplet energy of these compounds is determined by the presence of poly(p-phenyl) chains in the molecular structure. By identifying the longest poly(p-phenyl) chain, one can predict whether a compound will be a suitable host for a high-energy triplet emitter. An overview of HOMO levels, singlet and triplet levels, and exchange energies is given for all carbazole compounds synthesized. Finally, OLEDs employing two selected carbazole compounds as host and fac-tris(2-phenylpyridine)-iridium (Ir(ppy)(3)) as guest were constructed and characterized electrically.     

9,9’-螺双芴的光电性能

采用密度泛函理论(DFT)-B3LYP/6-31G(d)方法对9,9'-螺双芴低聚物[(SBF)n(n=1-4)]体系进行全优化, 得到各分子的最高占据轨道(HOMO)和最低空轨道(LUMO)能量及HOMO-LUMO能隙, 结果表明各分子整体表现出很好的共轭性质. 并在分子的阳离子和阴离子状态的优化结构基础上, 计算得到电离势(IP)、电子亲和势(EA)、空穴抽取能(HEP)、电子抽取能(EEP)和重组能等相关能量. 利用单激发组态相互作用(CIS)/3-21G方法优化得到9,9'-螺双芴单体的S1激发态的几何构型. 用含时密度泛函理论(TD-DFT)方法计算得到了分子吸收光谱和荧光光谱的相关数据. 随着聚合长度的增加, 能隙变窄, 空穴注入和电子转移的能力都相应提高, 吸收光所需能量减小, 吸收强度(f)增大, 光谱红移. 采用线性外推法, 利用低聚物分子的各种性质与聚合度n之间的关系, 得到高聚物的相应性质.为考察9位螺芴化的影响, 将(SBF)n的相关性质与母体芴的低聚物[(FL)n(n=1-4)]进行比较, 由两者的计算结果对比显示, 在芴的9位螺芴化可以提高电子和空穴的传输能力, 并同时保留芴优良的发光性质.     

Electronic excitation of polyfluorenes: a theoretical study

We present systematic, theoretical investigations on structure-property correlations in polyfluorenes (PFs) derived mainly from the chain morphology, oligomer length, and chemical substitutent. Both the vertical absorptions and the vibrational contributions to electronic absorption and fluorescence spectra have been calculated. The effect of temperature on the nature of photoexcitations of PFs has been demonstrated. It is found that the vibronic (electronic and vibrational) structures of PFs are morphology-dependent. beta-phase oligofluorenes (beta-(FL)(n)) and ladder-type poly(p-phenylene) (LPPP) oligomers show a red shift compared to the spectra of alpha-(FL)(n). The asymmetry of the absorption and fluorescence spectra in alpha-(FL)(n) and the fluorenone (FLO) defect oligofluorenes alpha-(FL)(n)(-)(m)(FLO)(m) is significantly more pronounced than that in planarized beta-(FL)(n) and LPPP oligomers. By properly taking into account the anharmonic torsion potentials resulting from the strong electronic and nuclear coupling in the oligofluorenes, we have reasonably reproduced the experimentally observed spectroscopic features. The low-energy on-chain chemical defect sites such as FLO units act as charge-trapping sites for singlet excitations, are the predominantly lighting-emitting species, and thus alter the blue light-emitting properties of PFs whereas the blue-light-emitting properties of PFs are hardly influenced by the hole-transporting molecules. The optical properties of PFs have been predicted by the finite-size calculations. Energy gaps of PFs are estimated by extrapolations from excitation energies of oligofluorenes up to 21 FL units.     

Optical excitations in star-shaped fluorene molecules

A detailed study of the low-energy optical transitions in two families of star-shaped molecules is presented. Both families have 3-fold rotational symmetry with oligofluorene arms attached to a central core. In one family, the core of the molecule is a rigid meta-linked truxene, while the other is a meta-linked benzene moiety. The low-energy transitions were studied both experimentally and using time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT). The optical transitions of these new star-shaped molecules were compared with corresponding linear oligofluorenes. Both families of star-shaped molecules showed higher absorption and fluorescence dipoles and photoluminescence quantum yields than straight chain oligofluorenes. TD-DFT calculations show that absorption takes place across the entire molecule, and after excited state relaxation, the emission results from a single arm. In both theory and experiment the transition dipole moments show an approximate n(0.5) dependence on the number of fluorene units in each arm.     

Theoretical study of challenging properties of intramolecularly π-stacked oligo(dibenzofulvene) organic molecular semiconductors

It has been recently argued that poly(dibenzofulvene) displays different properties for inter- and intrachain charge transport processes in the hopping regime. The charge carrier path for intramolecular transport consists in a set of π-stacked fluorene rings attached as pendant groups to the main chain, which defines a set of increasingly longer oligomers of helical shape according to the number of fluorene rings. The all-pervasive non-covalent interactions, influencing the mutual orientation of the π-stacked fluorene rings, is accounted for by dispersion-corrected methods, which had to be previously assessed against some experimental values. The present theoretical study aims to rationalize the competition between the two processes (inter- vs. intrachain) through the accurate calculation of the molecular parameters governing charge transport along the intrachain path. Finally, we perform a computationally guided molecular engineering of a set of molecules, not yet synthesized, with extended face-to-face π-stacking, which is achieved by fusing benzene rings to terminal sides of the fluorene moieties. This allows us to anticipate the performance of this new set of related materials.     

Theoretical Study on Optical Properties of Oligo°uorenes

We present theoretical investigations on structure-property correlations in fluorenone (FLO) and benzothiadiazole (BT) substituted oligofluorenes (OFLs) derived mainly from the chain morphology, thermal vibration and conjugated extent. Both the vertical absorptions and the vibrationally-resolved absorption and fluorescence spectra have been calculated by the com-bination of ab initio and time-dependent density functional theory. By properly taking into account of the anharmonic torsion potentials in the OFLs, we have reasonably reproduced the experimentally observed spectroscopic features. Both FLO and BT on-chain chemical defects acting as charge-trapping sites for singlet excitations, are responsible for long wave absorption and emission species, and thus alter the blue light-emitting properties of OFLs. As temperature decreases, the electronic spectral lineshapes of FLO-substituted oligomers become more structured. The lineshapes of BT-substituted oligomers are always smooth and featureless because of less low collective modes resonance. A more gentle excited poten-tial energy surface of BT-mixed molecules can enhance electronic delocalization and achievebigger red shifts.     

Synthesis and relationships between the structures and properties of monodisperse star-shaped oligofluorenes

[structure: see text] A convenient approach to a series of star-shaped pi-conjugated organic materials with oligofluorenes (OF) as the branches and a benzene ring as the core has been developed. The optical properties of these materials are liable to be tuned by introduction of more fluorene rings. The investigation of the structure-property relationship of these materials has indicated differences between star-shaped oligofluorenes and linear oligofluorenes, as well as polyfluorenes.     

Dynamics of fluorescence depolarisation in star-shaped oligofluorene-truxene molecules

Star-shaped molecules are of growing interest as organic optoelectronic materials. Here a detailed study of their photophysics using fluorescence depolarisation is reported. Fluorescence depolarisation dynamics are studied in branched oligofluorene-truxene molecules with a truxene core and well-defined three-fold symmetry, and are compared with linear fluorene oligomers. An initial anisotropy value of 0.4 is observed which shows a two-exponential decay with time constants of 500 fs and 3-8 ps in addition to a long-lived component. The femtosecond component is attributed to exciton localisation on one branch of the molecule and its amplitude reduces when the excitation is tuned to the low energy tail of the absorption spectrum. The picosecond component shows a weak dependence on the excitation wavelength and is similar to the calculated rate of the resonant energy transfer of the localised exciton between the branches. These assignments are supported by density-functional theory calculations which show a disorder-induced splitting of the two degenerate excited states. Exciton localisation is much slower than previously reported in other branched molecules which suggests that efficient light-harvesting systems can be designed using oligofluorenes and truxenes as building blocks.     

Electronic structure and optical properties of charged oligofluorenes studied by VIS/NIR spectroscopy and time-dependent density functional theory

The electronic structure and optical properties of charged oligofluorenes were studied experimentally and theoretically. Measurements of the optical absorption spectra of charged oligofluorenes in dilute solutions have been performed by using the pulse radiolysis technique. In addition, optical absorption spectra of radical cations and anions in a solid matrix were measured after gamma-irradiation at 77 K. The optical absorption spectra were measured in the range of 440-2100 nm (0.6-2.8 eV) and compared with results from time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculations. The calculated charge induced deformations and charge distribution do not indicate the occurrence of polaronic effects. The potential energy profiles for rotation around the inter-unit bond show that oligofluorenes are nonplanar in their neutral state, while they tend to more planar structures in their charged state. The optical absorption spectra of charged oligofluorenes are dependent on the angle between neighboring units. TDDFT absorption energies shift to lower values with increasing chain length, which suggests that the charge delocalizes along the oligomer chain.     

3‐Phenylethynyl phthalimide end‐capped imide oligomers and the cured polymers

In the past decades, 4‐phenylethynyl phthalic anhydride (4‐PEPA) has been the most important endcapper used for thermoset polyimide. As the isomer of4‐PEPA, 3‐phenylethynyl phthalic anhydride (3‐PEPA) has attracted our interest. In this article, 3‐PEPA was synthesized and a comparative study with 4‐PEPA on curing temperature, curing rate, thermal and mechanical properties of oligomers and cured polymers was presented. The new phenylethynyl endcapped model compound, N‐phenyl‐3‐phenylethynyl phthalimide, was synthesized and characterized. The molecular structure of model compound was determined via single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction and the thermal curing process was investigated by Fourier transform infrared. Differential scanning calorimetry clearly showed that the model compound from 3‐PEPA had about 20 °C higher curing onset and peak temperature than the 4‐PEPA analog. This result was further proved by the dynamic rheological analysis that the temperature of minimum viscosity for oligomers end‐capped with 3‐PEPA was above 20 °C higher than that of the corresponding 4‐PEPA endcapped oligomers with the same calculated number average molecular weight. The cured polymer from 3‐PEPA displayed slightly higher thermal oxidative stability than those from 4‐PEPA by thermogravimetric analysis. The thermal curing kinetics of 3‐PEPA endcapped oligomer (OI‐5) and 4‐PEPA endcapped oligomer (OI‐6) fitted a first‐order rate law quite well and revealed a similar rate acceleration trend. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 4227–4235, 2008     

Electronic structure and optical properties of an alternated fluorene-benzothiadiazole copolymer: interplay between experimental and theoretical data

The donor-acceptor copolymer containing benzothiadiazole (electron acceptor), linked to functionalized fluorene (electron donor), [poly[9,9-bis(3'-(tert-butyl propanoate))fluorene-co-4,7-(2,1,3-benzothiadiazole)] (LaPPS40), was synthesized through the Suzuki route. The polymer was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, gel permeation chromatography, NMR, thermal analysis, cyclic voltammetry, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, UV-vis spectrometry, and photophysical measurements. Theoretical calculations (density functional theory and semiempirical methodologies) used to simulate the geometry of some oligomers and the dipole moments of molecular orbitals involved were in excellent agreement with experimental results. Using such data, the higher energy absorption band was attributed to the π-π* (S(0) → S(4)) transition of the fluorene units and the lower lying band was attributed to the intramolecular (ICT) (S(0) → S(1)) charge transfer between acceptor (benzothiadiazole) and donor groups (fluorene) (D-A structure). The ICT character of this band was confirmed by its solvatochromic properties using solvents with different dielectric properties, and this behavior could be well described by the Lippert-Mataga equation. To explain the solvatochromic behavior, both the magnitude and orientation of the dipole moments in the electronic ground state and in the excited state were analyzed using the theoretical data. According to these data, the change in magnitude of the dipole moments was very small for both transitions but the spatial orientation changed remarkably for the lower energy band ascribed to the ICT band.