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Title: Triplet excimer formation of some vinylaromatic polymers and their monomeric analogues

Miscellaneous ·
OSTI ID:5566177

The temperature-induced interchange between nonexcimeric and excimeric phosphorescence was investigated at temperatures from 20 K to 240 K for poly [N-((vinyloxy)-carbonyl) carbazole] (PFCZ); poly[N-((allyloxy)-carbonyl) carbazole] (PACZ); and poly(3,6-dibromo-N-vinylcarbazole) (3,6PVKBr[sub 2]). The monomeric model compounds such as triphenylamine (TPA); N,N-diphenylamino-phenylmethyl ester of 2-methylpropanoic acid (DAPM); N-ethylcarbazole (NEC); and 3, 6-dibromo-carbazole (3, 6Br[sub 2]Cz) in polystyrene (PS); and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) polymer matrices were studied. In most cases phosphorescence spectra at low temperatures were structured, but as the temperature was raised a broad phosphorescence band at about 470 nm appears. The band has no structure and is thought to be due to excimeric triplet; it grows with increasing temperature and the low temperature band gradually disappears. Rates of excimer formation and dissociation were determined as a function of temperature as well as the corresponding activation energies. Activation energies for the trapping of triplet excitons at excimer-forming sites in the matrices were between 1.1 and 2.6 kJ/mol for carbazolyl-containing polymers. For a triphenylamine-containing polymer, PDAPM, the activation energy is 5.1 kJ/mol. The activation energies associated with excimer formation were related to the nature of the chromophore itself rather than to any constraints imposed by the backbone structure of the polymer. The activation energies for dissociation of the triplet excimers were dependent on the concentration of the amine. For DAPM, the evidence suggests that excimers formed in dilute polymer matrices are in a strained configuration which relaxes slowly compared to the excimer lifetime. Triplet exciton migration is not the rate-limiting step in excimer formation. Rather, the rate of trapping is controlled primarily by the action of bond formation in the excimeric species.

Research Organization:
Nevada Univ., Reno, NV (United States)
OSTI ID:
5566177
Resource Relation:
Other Information: Thesis (Ph.D.)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English