Adherence behavior of 1-poly(propylene oxide)-2-(1-pyrenyl)benzimidazoles on graphene oxide surface

Abstract 1-Poly(propylene oxide)-2-(1-pyrenyl)benzimidazole (PyrBI-PPO(n), n denotes the degree of polymerization (DP) of poly(propylene oxide) (PPO)) was synthesized by the ring-opening polymerization of propylene oxide (PO) with NH-deprotonated 2-(1-pyrenyl)benzimidazole (PyrBI). The DP of the PPO chain depended on the feed ratio of PO/(NH-deprotonated PyrBI). The solubility of PyrBI-PPO(n) in water depended on the PPO chain length. The reaction of water-soluble PyrBI-PPO(n) (n = 26, 46, and 125) with graphene oxide (GO) in water at various feed ratios of GO/PyrBI-PPO(n) caused the adherence of the pyrenyl group on the GO surface and produced water-soluble composites, namely, PyrBI-PPO(n)-GO. The adherence behavior of PyrBI-PPO(n) on the GO surface was investigated by UV-vis and photoluminescence spectroscopy analyses.