Particle & Particle Systems Characterization, Vol.32, No.10, 962-969, 2015
Investigation of Abnormal Long-Wavelength Fluorescence Emissions Occurring in Binary Organic Nanoparticle Films
In some fluorophores with planar groups, a long-wavelength emission band different from their native one can sometimes be observed. The main cause of this long-wavelength band is excimer formation. It is generally accepted that once condensed in the solid state, whether fluorophores can exhibit excimer emission or not depends only on their molecular structure and packing. However, here it is shown that there are exceptions when fluorophores are present in nanoparticles (NPs), where excimer emission can be affected by the environment surrounding the NPs, even in the solid state. It is found that in some binary NP films consisting of fluorophore NPs and other NPs, unusual long-wavelength bands ascribed to excimer emission can be activated, even though these bands are absent from the photoluminescence spectra of the pure fluorophore NP films. This finding is beneficial to better understand and control excimer emissions. In addition, such a binary NP system provides an ideal platform to investigate the interplay between two fluorophores, because it keeps them effectively separated while maintaining suitable spatial distances for exciton migration and dipole-dipole interactions. This work also provides evidence for the long-debated origin of the green emission band (g-band) of fluorene-based fluorophores.