Unmasking electronic energy transfer of conjugated polymers by suppression of O2 quenching

The photochemistry of poly[2-methoxy, 5-(2'-ethyl-hexyloxy)-p-phenylene-vinylene] (MEH-PPV) has been found to be highly dependent on the presence of O-2, which increases singlet exciton quenching dramatically, Spectroscopy on isolated single molecules of MEH-PPV in polycarbonate films that exclude O-2 reveals two distinct polymer conformations with fluorescence maxima near 555 and 580 nanometers wavelength, respectively. Time-resolved single-molecule data demonstrate that the 580-nanometer conformation exhibits a landscape for intramolecular electronic energy relaxation with a funnel that contains a 580-nanometer singlet exciton trap at the bottom. The exciton traps can be converted to exciton quenchers by reaction with O-2. Conformationally induced, directed-energy transfer is arguably a critical dynamical process that is responsible for many of the distinctive photophysical properties of conjugated polymers.