Tunable White‐Light Emission from Conjugated Polymer‐Di‐Ureasil Materials. (15th December 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Willis‐Fox, Niamh; Kraft, Mario; Arlt, Jochen; Scherf, Ullrich; Evans, Rachel C.
• Is Part Of: Advanced functional materials. Volume 26:Number 4(2016)
• Page Start: 532
• Page End: 542
• Publication Date: 2015-12-15
• Subjects: composites -- conjugated polymers -- hybrid materials -- optically active materials -- photoluminescence; Materials -- Periodicals; Chemical vapor deposition -- Periodicals; 620.11
• DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201504017
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1616-301X

Abstract

Abstract : Conjugated polymer (CP)‐di‐ureasil composite materials displaying a tunable emission color from blue to yellow through white have been prepared using a simple sol–gel processing method. The tunability of the emission color arises from a combination of energy transfer between the di‐ureasil and the CP dopant and the excitation wavelength dependence of the di‐ureasil emission. Incorporation of the CP does not adversely affect the bulk or local structure of the di‐ureasil, enabling retention of the structural and mechanical properties of the host. Furthermore, CP‐di‐ureasils display superior thermal and photostability compared to the parent CPs. Thermogravimetric analysis shows that the onset of thermal decomposition can be increased by up to 130 °C for CP‐di‐ureasils, while photostability studies reveal a significant decrease in the extent of photodegradation. Steady‐state photoluminescence spectroscopy and picosecond time‐resolved emission studies indicate that the observed tunable emission arises as a consequence of incomplete energy transfer between the di‐ureasil and the CP dopant, resulting in emission from both species on direct excitation of the di‐ureasil matrix. The facile synthetic approach and tunable emission demonstrate that CP‐di‐ureasils are a highly promising route to white‐light‐emitters that simultaneously improve the stability and reduce the complexity of CP‐based multilayer device architectures. Abstract : An efficient method for the fabrication of conjugated polymer (CP)‐di‐ureasil composite materials displaying tunable emission is presented. Judicious selection of the CP dopant concentration and the excitation wavelength facilitates modulation of the emission color across the blue to yellow gamut, yielding white light with Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage xy coordinates close to ideal white light.