NIR absorbing dimeric aza-BODIPY dye with J-type aggregation and photothermal properties

Abstract A novel amphiphilic dimeric aza-BODIPY dye was synthesized by oxidative coupling and characterized by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, MS, and UV/Vis absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy. In comparison with its precursor, the dimeric dye displayed a bathochromically shifted absorption band with maximum at 731 nm and an emission maximum at 768 nm. In addition, the dimeric dye formed stable J-type aggregates in DMSO/H2O. The morphology of nanowire was observed for the aggregates by AFM and TEM. Furthermore, the J-type aggregates of the dimeric aza-BODIPY exhibited promising photothermal conversion efficiency (38.7%).