Sharp and red “single-chain” luminescence from poly[2,5-dialkoxy-1,4-phenylene vinylene] locked in ordered host matrix

Abstract We found that the luminescence profile of poly[2,5-di(3′,7′-dimethyloctyloxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene] (OC 10 C 10 -PPV), which originally is an orange-emitting polymer, can red-shift significantly by ca. 30 nm ( λ max : from 585 to 614 nm) and become very narrow (full width at half maximum: 30 nm) when doped into poly{2-[ m -(3′,7′-dimethyloctyloxy)phenyl]-1,4-phenylene vinylene} ( m -Ph-PPV). Due to the ordered structure of the host polymer, the effective conjugation length of the guest polymer is extended as if the chains were frozen. Surprisingly, the OC 10 C 10 -PPV chains can even be more tightly locked in the ordered m -Ph-PPV matrix than in the cooled neat OC 10 C 10 -PPV film at 5 K.