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Australian Journal of Chemistry Australian Journal of Chemistry Society
An international journal for chemical science
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Excitonic Processes in a Conjugated Polyelectrolyte Complex

David T. Nitneth A , James A. Hutchison A and Kenneth P. Ghiggino A B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A ARC Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science, School of Chemistry University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Vic. 3010, Australia.

B Corresponding author. Email: ghiggino@unimelb.edu.au

Australian Journal of Chemistry 73(3) 164-169 https://doi.org/10.1071/CH19308
Submitted: 6 July 2019  Accepted: 10 September 2019   Published: 17 October 2019

Abstract

In aqueous solution, a di-sulfonated phenylenevinylene polymer (DPS-PPV) forms a complex with non-ionic poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) leading to absorption spectroscopic shifts and a dramatic (6-fold) increase in DPS-PPV fluorescence intensity. Spectroscopic investigations demonstrate that the complexation with PVA and other neutral polymers results in conformational changes in the DPS-PPV chains that lead to the removal of non-fluorescent energy traps and results in the observed increase in fluorescence in the bulk solution. Single molecule fluorescence measurements of DPS-PPV chains dispersed on glass and in PVA films confirm that efficient exciton energy transfer occurs within each photo-excited DPS-PPV chain and that the observed increase in fluorescence intensity in the PVA film environment is also associated with fewer quenching sites. The results highlight the importance of conjugated polyelectrolyte conformation on exciton relaxation pathways.


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