title: Solid state concentration quenching of organic fluorophores in PMMA.
abstract: In this study the concentration quenching phenomenon is explored for seven organic singlet emitters (Rhodamine 6G, Pyridine 2, Lumogen F Red 305, Perylene, Coumarin 102, DCM and DCJTB) in an inert host of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). Combining fluorescence lifetime and quantum yield measurements on samples of different molecular separation allows a deep decay rate analysis to be performed yielding, for each fluorophore, a monomial power law that indicates the strength and type of interaction. The fluorophores studied exhibit interactions in between that of FRET-like dipole-dipole (R(-6)) and surface-surface (R(-2)) with many lying close to that expected for surface-dipole (R(-3)) interactions. With no observed dependence on molecular structure it is concluded that the concentration quenching rate in singlet emitters follows a power law as kCQ = aR(-3.1±0.7) with aggregation expected to increase the magnitude of the observed power.
authors.affiliation: The Electronic and Photonic Molecular Materials Group (EPMM), The Physics and Astronomy Department, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S3 7RH, England. alastair.buckley@sheffield.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Adam P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Green
authors.forename: Alastair R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Buckley
mesh_terms: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000737:chemistry*; D019904:Polymethyl Methacrylate / Q000737:chemistry*; D011789:Quantum Theory; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D019904:Polymethyl Methacrylate