Observation of photoluminescence in polypyrrole micelles

Photoluminescence (PL) was observed from micelles of polypyrrole without substituent groups. CHCl3 and CCl4 as well as 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidinyloxy (TEMPO) showed a typical fluorescence quenching behavior that can be observed when quencher molecules are added to a micellar solution of fluorescent material. At higher concentrations, the PL intensity decreased due to quenching in the aggregate phase and self-absorption. The PL intensity varied depending upon the solvent in the order of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) > N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) > N-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone (NMP) > ethanol > toluene > tetrahydrofuran (THF).