Observation of anthracene excimer fluorescence at very low concentrations utilizing dendritic structures

We prepared water-soluble anthracene-cored poly(aryl ether) dendrimers wG1 and wG2, together with lipophilic dendrimers G1 and G2, and examined their photochemical properties. Water-soluble dendrimers wG1 and wG2 produced excimer emissions peaking at 463 nm and 447 nm, respectively, in water at a concentration of 10−5 M, indicating that these dendrimers could form aggregates under highly diluted conditions. The results presented here are the first clear report of the observations of the excimer emission of anthracene in very low fluid solutions in which appropriate substituents were introduced.

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slideHighlights► Photochemistry of a water-soluble anthracene-cored dendrimer. ► We attempted to observe the anthracene excimer using cone-shaped dendrimers. ► The dendrimer exhibited blue-green anthracene excimer fluorescence in highly diluted conditions. ► This is the first clear report of the observations of the anthracene excimer emission in very low fluid solutions.