Luminescence and photoconductivity studies on bonding, mobility and electronic deactivation in submonolayers and thin films of Distyrylbenzene

Aggregation-induced emission enhancement in organic ion pairs

We present here a new example of aggregation-induced emission enhancement (AIEE), which involves an original mechanism based on the formation of organic ion pairs. The phenol 4-hydroxy-7-nitrobenzoxadiazole (NBDOH) is dissociated in water at pH 5.0 to give the corresponding phenolate, which is poorly fluorescent in this medium. We bring evidence that fluorescence quenching is due to an interaction with water molecules. In the presence of a relatively bulky ammonium salt, specifically tetrabutylammonium bromide (TBAB), NBDOH forms a hydrophobic salt, TBA(+)NBDO(-). This has no influence on the fluorescence of the anion as long as the salt is dissolved. However, the salt readily crystallizes in the medium and transition to the solid state is accompanied by a strong increase in fluorescence intensity. This effect can be explained by two reasons. The anions are protected from water molecules, and above all, the presence of the bulky cations prevents parallel-stacking of the anions, thus leading to an original molecular arrangement that is favorable to fluorescence. As the nature of the organic cation may be easily changed, the versatility of the system is very interesting for the design of new organic micro- and nanoparticles that must be fluorescent in the solid state, possibly in an aqueous environment.

EXCITONS IN CONJUGATED OLIGOMER AGGREGATES, FILMS, AND CRYSTALS

Recent experimental and theoretical investigations of excitons in conjugated oligomer nanoaggregates, thin films, and crystals are reviewed. The review focuses on the technologically important unsubstituted oligo-phenylene vinylenes (OPVn) and oligo-thiophenes (OTn), which exhibit side-by-side herringbone crystal packing. Many of the salient photophysical properties displayed by OPVn and OTn solid phases, including the large Davydov splitting, the rich variety of peaks due to vibronic coupling in both absorption and emission, and the unusual behavior of the emission origin, are accounted for in a model including excitonic coupling between molecules, linear exciton-phonon coupling, and disorder.