Pressure-induced excimer formation and fluorescence enhancement of an anthracene derivative

Journal Article · Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 2021 · Journal of Materials Chemistry C

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1039/d0tc04677a· OSTI ID:1768212

Dai, Yuxiang ^[1]; Liu, Haichao ^[2]; Geng, Ting ^[3]; Ke, Feng ^[4]; Niu, Shanyuan ^[4]; Wang, Kai ^[3]; Qi, Yang ^[5]; Zou, Bo ^[3]; Yang, Bing ^[2]; Mao, Wendy L. ^[4]; Lin, Yu ^[6]

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1. Northeastern Univ., Shenyang (China); SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States). Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Science (SIMES)
2. Jilin Univ., Changchun (China). State Key Lab. of Supramolecular Structure and Materials
3. Jilin Univ., Changchun (China). State Key Lab. of Superhard Materials
4. SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States). Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Science (SIMES); Stanford Univ., CA (United States)
5. Northeastern Univ., Shenyang (China); Northeastern Univ., Shenyang (China). Key Lab. for Anisotropy and Texture of Materials
6. SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States). Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Science (SIMES)

Excimer materials have been widely studied and have generated significant interest for their applications in many optoelectronic devices. However, a thorough investigation of the entire process involved in excimer formation, enhancement, and annihilation in solid materials is still lacking. Here we designed a crystal based on an anthracene derivative with dissociative, molecular-ordered dimer assembly, and studied the formation and evolution of an anthracene excimer as a function of pressure. During the initial stage of pressurization, the fluorescence intensity arising from anthracene monomers gradually decreases. Therefore, with continued compression, the two anthracene units become increasingly closer allowing strong intermolecular π–π interactions to develop that lead to excimer formation at 3.5 GPa, accompanied with a phase transition. The fluorescence intensity then keeps increasing with pressure and reaches its maximum at 5.6 GPa due to the strengthening of the excimer and the increased structural defects. Meanwhile the fluorescence color shows a continuous redshift, which initially results from conformation planarization and then excimer evolution. After releasing pressure back to ambient conditions, the structural changes in the sample are reversible, while the fluorescence signal preserves some high-pressure features due to the partial retention of the π–π interactions between the anthracene dimers. This study reveals the evolution of an excimer and its intrinsic photophysical properties, and provides guidance for future research on pressure-sensitive fluorescent devices.

• Research Organization: SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (SLAC), Menlo Park, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: China Postdoctoral Science Foundation; China Scholarships Council; Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities; National Natural Science Foundation of China (NNSFC); USDOE; USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
• Grant/Contract Number: AC02-76SF00515
• OSTI ID: 1768212
• Alternate ID(s): OSTI ID: 1737696
• Journal Information: Journal of Materials Chemistry C, Journal Name: Journal of Materials Chemistry C Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 9; ISSN 2050-7526
• Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY