Effects of nonaromatic through-bond conjugation and through-space
conjugation on the photoluminescence of nontraditional luminogens
Abstract
Photoluminescence (PL) mechanisms of nontraditional luminogens (NTLs)
have attracted great interests, and they are generally explained with
intra/intermolecular through-space conjugation (TSC) of nonconventional
chromophores (NCCs). Here we propose a new concept of nonaromatic
through-bond conjugation (TBC) and proved that it plays an important
role in the PL of NTLs. The PL behaviors of cyclohexanedione (CHD),
dimethyl-1,3-cyclohexanedione (DMCHD) and their three respective isomers
are studied and correlated with their chemical structures and aggregate
structures. These compounds show different fluorescence emissions from
blue to yellow region, and they also show different
concentration-dependent emission (CDE) and excitation-dependent emission
(EDE) characteristics. The position of ketone groups and the steric
hindrance of methyl groups in the compounds determine the occurrence of
keto-enol tautomerism or not. The compounds with conjugated keto-enol
structure (i.e., nonaromatic TBC) show red-shifted emissions with
comparison to the compounds with only isolated diketone structures.
Theoretical calculations show that TBC effect reduces the HOMO-LUMO
energy gaps of single molecules, and it facilitates the formation of
stronger TSC in the aggregate state. The cooperative effect of
nonaromatic TBC and TSC leads to more significantly red-shifted
emissions. This work provides a novel and deeper understanding of the PL
mechanisms of NTLs and is of great importance for directing the design
and synthesis of NTLs with enhanced and red-shifted emissions.