Femtosecond Studies of Exciton Dynamics in a Novel Optically Active Conjugated Polymer

Conjugated polymers have unique electronic and optical properties that are potentially useful in electro-optics and LEDs. The study of the exciton dynamics in conjugated polymers is essential to their applications [1]. This paper reports the study of the exciton dynamics in an optically active poly(arylene vinylene) (PAV) in solutions using femtosecond laser spectroscopy. This polymer has a main chain chiral conformation and is the first example of its kind. It has potential applications in areas such as asymmetric electrosynthesis [2]. Its strong and relatively blue absorption and emission spectra (Fig.1) make it attractive for blue LEDs. The fluorescence quantum yield is >80% in toluene. The molecular structure of this PAV is also shown in Fig. 1.