ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Towards optically responsive smart materials: electronic interactions between polymeric semiconductor and photochromic molecule

Martin Vala and Martin Weiter

Brno University of Technology, Brno, Czech Republic

E-mail: vala@fch.vut.cz

Abstract: Electronic interactions between π-conjugated poly[2-methoxy-5-(3′,7′-dimethyloctyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene] (MDMO-PPV) and photochromic 6-nitro-1′,3′,3′-trimethylspiro[2H-1-benzopyran-2,2′-indoline] (SP) were studied using the optical spectroscopy. The observed fluorescence quenching of MDMO-PPV by the open merocyanine form of the SP was explained as a photoinduced charge transfer. This opens the possibility to reversibly switch between low and high photoconductive states which can be used for the construction of electro-optical bi-stable devices or sensors.

Keywords: PPV ; MDMO-PPV ; Spiropyran ; Resonance energy transfer ; Fluorescence quenching ; Photoinduced electron transfer ; Molecular switch ; Organic electronics 

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1007/s11696-018-0399-5

Chemical Papers 72 (7) 1761–1767 (2018)