School of Chemistry - Research Publications

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    Highly Efficient Luminescent Solar Concentrators by Selective Alignment of Donor-Emitter Fluorophores
    Zhang, B ; Gao, C ; Soleimaninejad, H ; White, JM ; Smith, TA ; Jones, DJ ; Ghiggino, KP ; Wong, WWH (AMER CHEMICAL SOC, 2019-04-23)
    Vertically aligning fluorophores to the surface of a waveguide is known to be an effective approach to improve the optical quantum efficiency (OQE) of luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs). While the chromophore alignment assists waveguiding of the emitted photons to the LSC edges, it also significantly reduces the light-harvesting properties of the LSC. We report here a fluorophore pair consisting of a sphere-shaped energy donor and a rod-shaped emitter that was incorporated in LSCs to provide selective fluorophore alignment to address the reduced incident-light absorption issue. A liquid-crystal polymer matrix was used to perpendicularly align the rod-shaped acceptors to a favorable orientation for light guiding, while the sphere-shaped donor was randomly oriented to maintain its light-absorbing properties. The OQE of LSC devices with this selectively aligned donor-acceptor fluorophore system is 78% without significant loss of light-harvesting capability.
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    Intramolecular Versus Intermolecular Triplet Fusion in Multichromophoric Photochemical Upconversion
    Gao, C ; Prasad, SKK ; Zhang, B ; Dvorak, M ; Tayebjee, MJY ; McCamey, DR ; Schmidt, TW ; Smith, TA ; Wong, WWH (AMER CHEMICAL SOC, 2019-08-22)
    Photon upconversion is a process that creates high-energy photons under low photon energy excitation. The effect of molecular geometry on the triplet fusion upconversion process has been investigated in this work through the design and synthesis of four new 9,10-diphenylanthracene (DPA) derivatives by employing platinum octaethylporphyrin as the triplet sensitizer. These new emitter molecules containing multiple DPA subunits linked together via a central benzene core exhibit high fluorescence quantum yields. Interestingly, large differences in the triplet fusion upconversion performance were observed between the derivatives with the meta-substituted dimer showing the closest performance to the DPA reference. The differences are discussed in terms of the statistical probability for obtaining a high-energy singlet excited state from triplet fusion, f, for both inter- and intramolecular processes and the effect of magnetic field on the upconversion efficiency. These results demonstrate the challenges to be overcome in improving triplet fusion upconversion efficiency based on multichromophoric emitter systems.
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    Tetraphenylethene 9,10-Diphenylanthracene Derivatives - Synthesis and Photophysical Properties
    Gao, C ; Seow, JY ; Zhang, B ; Hall, CR ; Tilley, AJ ; White, JM ; Smith, TA ; Wong, WWH (WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH, 2019-06)
    A series of tetraphenylethene 9,10-diphenylanthracene (TPE-DPA) derivatives have been synthesized, and their photophysical properties studied. Photoluminescence measurements in PMMA, neat films and nanoparticle dispersions reveal that different aggregation states are formed, which leads to different photophysical behavior. The triplet excited state properties were studied using Pt(II) octaethylporphyrin (PtOEP) as triplet sensitizer. Upconverted emission from the DPA moiety is observed in nanoparticle dispersions of each derivative. A higher upconverted emission intensity is observed in aerated (compared to deaerated) solutions of the derivatives following irradiation, which is attributed to oxidation of the TPE moiety. These results provide valuable insight for the design of AIE luminogens for triplet-triplet annihilation upconversion (TTA-UC).
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    AIE conjugated polyelectrolytes based on tetraphenylethene for efficient fluorescence imaging and lifetime imaging of living cells
    Gao, M ; Hong, Y ; Chen, B ; Wang, Y ; Zhou, W ; Wong, WWH ; Zhou, J ; Smith, TA ; Zhao, Z (ROYAL SOC CHEMISTRY, 2017-07-14)

    New conjugated polyelectrolytes based on tetraphenylethene are prepared, which show good performance in fluorescence imaging and fluorescence lifetime imaging of living cells.

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    Energy Migration in Organic Solar Concentrators with a Molecularly Insulated Perylene Diimide
    Banal, JL ; Soleimaninejad, H ; Jradi, FM ; Liu, M ; White, JM ; Blakers, AW ; Cooper, MW ; Jones, DJ ; Ghiggino, KP ; Marder, SR ; Smith, TA ; Wong, WWH (AMER CHEMICAL SOC, 2016-06-23)
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    Highly Fluorescent Molecularly Insulated Perylene Diimides: Effect of Concentration on Photophysical Properties
    Zhang, B ; Soleimaninejad, H ; Jones, DJ ; White, JM ; Ghiggino, KP ; Smith, TA ; Wong, WWH (AMER CHEMICAL SOC, 2017-10-10)
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    A water-soluble, AIE-active polyelectrolyte for conventional and fluorescence lifetime imaging of mouse neuroblastoma neuro-2A cells
    Wang, Y ; Yao, H ; Zhou, J ; Hong, Y ; Chen, B ; Zhang, B ; Smith, TA ; Wong, WWH ; Zhao, Z (WILEY, 2018-03-15)
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    Exciton Dynamics of Photoexcited Pendant Porphyrin Polymers in Solution and in Thin Films
    Stevens, AL ; Novakovic, S ; White, JM ; Wong, WWH ; Smith, TA ; Ghiggino, KP ; Paige, MF ; Steer, RP (American Chemical Society, 2018-12-20)
    Several new polymers with rotatable zinc porphyrin pendants have been synthesized and their optical spectroscopic and photophysical properties, including upconversion efficiencies, determined in both fluid solution and thin films. Comparisons made with the β-substituted zinc tetraphenylporphyrin monomers and ZnTPP itself reveal that the yield of triplets resulting from either Q-band or Soret-band excitation of the polymers is surprisingly small. A detailed kinetic analysis of the fluorescence decays and transient triplet absorptions of the substituted monomers and their corresponding polymers reveals that this phenomenon is due to two parallel internal singlet quenching processes assigned to transient intrachain excimer formation. Consequently, the yields of upconverted S2 fluorescence resulting from Q-band excitation in the degassed polymers are significantly diminished in both fluid solution and thin films. Implications of these results for the design of polymer upconverting systems are discussed.
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    High performance p-type molecular electron donors for OPV applications via alkylthiophene catenation chromophore extension
    Geraghty, PB ; Lee, C ; Subbiah, J ; Wong, WWH ; Banal, JL ; Jameel, MA ; Smith, TA ; Jones, DJ (BEILSTEIN-INSTITUT, 2016-11-02)
    The synthesis of key 4-alkyl-substituted 5-(trimethylsilyl)thiophene-2-boronic acid pinacol esters 3 allowed a simplified alkylthiophene catenation process to access bis-, ter-, quater-, and quinquethiophene π-bridges for the synthesis of acceptor-π-bridge-donor- π-bridge-acceptor (A-π-D-π-A) electron donor molecules. Based on the known benzodithiophene-terthiophene-rhodanine (BTR) material, the BXR series of materials, BMR (X = M, monothiophene), BBR (X = B, bithiophene), known BTR (X = T, terthiophene), BQR (X = Q, quaterthiophene), and BPR (X = P(penta), quinquethiophene) were synthesised to examine the influence of chromophore extension on the device performance and stability for OPV applications. The BTxR (x = 4, butyl, and x = 8, octyl) series of materials were synthesised by varying the oligothiophene π-bridge alkyl substituent to examine structure-property relationships in OPV device performance. The devices assembled using electron donors with an extended chromophore (BQR and BPR) are shown to be more thermally stable than the BTR containing devices, with un-optimized efficiencies up to 9.0% PCE. BQR has been incorporated as a secondary donor in ternary blend devices with PTB7-Th resulting in high-performance OPV devices with up to 10.7% PCE.