화학공학소재연구정보센터
Macromolecules, Vol.44, No.20, 7977-7986, 2011
On the Degradation Process Involving Polyfluorenes and the Factors Governing Their Spectral Stability
This study deals with an investigation of the spectral stability of differently structured polyfluorenes (PFs), deprived of 9-H defects, embodying 9,9-diallcylfluorene (P1), 9,9-diarylfluorene (P2), or 9,9-diarylfluorene/9,9-dibenzylfluorene units in a 1:1 alternating fashion (P3). Thermal annealing or UV irradiation carried out on films of P1-P3 in air revealed that their typical blue photoluminescence is invariably stained, independently of their 9-substitution, by the appearance of the low-energy band (g-band) pointing out a remarkable effect of light on the degradation process. A more comprehensive picture of the degradation pathway is proposed, including as key step a light-promoted formation of a PF radical cation generated by aerobic oxidation (photoluminescence test) or p-doping (cyclic voltammetry test). The blue emission of P1-P3 could successfully be preserved by dispersing them into a higher band gap matrix, such as polyvinylcarbazole (PVK), indicating a fundamental role of the intermolecular interactions between PF chains in the appearance of the low-energy emission band. Comparison between the optical behavior of suitably prepared PFs containing either fluorenone moieties (PFK) or 9-(bis-methylsulfanyl-methylene)fluorene moieties (PFS) holds regions of planarity within the PF backbone (inducing local intermolecular interactions) and not the fluorenone charge-transfer emission as responsible of the g-band of degraded PFs.