Multichromophoric dendrimers as single-photon sources: A single-molecule study

Sadahiro Masuo, Tom Vosch, Mircea Cotlet, Philip Tinnefeld, Satoshi Habuchi, Toby D.M. Bell, Ingo Oesterling, David Beljonne, Benoît Champagne, Klaus Müllen, Markus Sauer, Johan Hofkens*, Frans C. De Schryver

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

71 Scopus citations

Abstract

Single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy was performed on a number of multi-peryleneimide substituted polyphenylene dendrimers for the purpose of investigating the parameters which influence the efficiency of the dendrimers as single-photon sources at room temperature. Analysis of fluorescence intensity, lifetime, and interphoton arrival time distribution revealed that all measured first-generation dendrimers behave as single-photon emitters when more than one chromophore is excited by a single excitation pulse regardless of the number of constituent chromophores. This is a result of efficient singlet-singlet annihilation, which becomes less efficient in higher-generation dendrimers when the interchromophoric distance increases. The efficiency of the investigated dendrimers as single-photon sources depends on several other parameters, such as the nature of the surrounding polymer matrix, the number of chromophores, and the extent of interchromophoric interactions. These parameters mainly affect the frequency of singlet-triplet annihilation, which in turn dominates the quality of these multichromophoric dendrimers as single-photon sources. The results reported here are important not only for the design of single-photon sources based on single organic molecules but also for a fundamental understanding of natural and artificial multichromophoric systems.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)16686-16696
Number of pages11
JournalJournal of Physical Chemistry B
Volume108
Issue number43
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 28 2004
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
  • Surfaces, Coatings and Films
  • Materials Chemistry

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