title: Facile access to highly fluorescent nanofibers and microcrystals via reprecipitation of 2-phenyl-benzoxazole derivatives.
abstract: 2-Phenyl-benzoxazole and five derivatives bearing an alkyl or alkoxy substituent on the phenyl ring were used to prepare aqueous suspensions of particles via a solvent-exchange method. In these conditions, the methyl and methoxy derivatives spontaneously gave nanofibers, while the other compounds led to microcrystals. This shows that minor chemical changes are enough to direct the formation of a given type of particle. From a spectroscopic viewpoint, all compounds strongly emit blue light in the solid state, with spectra much broader than those registered in n-heptane and ethanol solutions. The photoluminescence quantum yields reached 38% and were slightly affected in aqueous suspension by the polarity of the environment. The molecular arrangement, deduced from X-ray analysis for the methyl and methoxy derivatives, was used to explain the fluorescence properties in the solid state. This work shows that 2-phenyl-benzoxazole derivatives are interesting candidates for applications as fluorescent nanomaterials, including in aqueous and biological media.
authors: Laboratoire des Interactions Moléculaires Réactivité Chimique et Photochimique, CNRS UMR 5623, Université Paul Sabatier 31062 Toulouse cedex 9, France.
authors: Abdelhamid
authors: A
authors: Ghodbane
authors: Sébastien
authors: S
authors: D'Altério
authors: Nathalie
authors: N
authors: Saffon
authors: Nathan D
authors: ND
authors: McClenaghan
authors: Luca
authors: L
authors: Scarpantonio
authors: Pascale
authors: P
authors: Jolinat
authors: Suzanne
authors: S
authors: Fery-Forgues
mesh_terms: D001583:Benzoxazoles / Q000737:chemistry*; D003460:Crystallization; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000737:chemistry*; D057139:Nanofibers
chemical_list: D001583:Benzoxazoles; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes