Aggregation of an n-pi* Molecule Induces Fluorescence Turn-on

作者：Jhun Byung Hak; Yi Seung Yeon; Jeong Donghyun; Cho Jaeheung; Park Soo Young; You Youngmin

来源：Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2017, 121(21): 11907-11914.

DOI：10.1021/acs.jpcc.7b02797

Although n-pi* molecules can serve as electroluminescent materials because of the harvesting of singlet and triplet excitons through El-Sayed-rule-allowed reverse intersystem crossing, the weak fluorescence emissions of such molecules have prevented applications into devices. We have discovered a 1 order of magnitude enhancement of the fluorescence of a prototypical n-pi* fluorophore, 7-phenylcoumarin (PC), upon aggregation. We performed a mechanistic study consisting of structural, photophysical, and quantum chemical investigations, and found that the aggregation positioned the fluorescent electronic state below the nonemissive tripletn-pi* transition state. Our studies, for the first time, demonstrate intramolecular geometry and intermolecular arrangements in the solid state to be significant factors in the photoluminescence quantum yields of n-pi* fluorophores.

• 出版日期2017-6-1