Correlating Pyrene Excimer Formation with Polymer Chain Dynamics in Solution. Possibilities and Limitations

Four types of pyrene-labeled polystyrene samples (Py−PS) were prepared and the process of excimer formation between the pyrene labels was characterized by steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence to assess the effect the mode of pyrene incorporation into a polymer has on the kinetics of excimer formation. The pyrene label was incorporated into the PS backbone by either (1) reacting 1-pyrenemethoxide with a chloromethylated polystyrene backbone to yield the GrE−PS series, (2) copolymerizing styrene with 4-(1-pyrenyl)methoxymethylstyrene to yield the CoE−PS series, (3) copolymerizing styrene with N-(1-pyrenylmethyl)acrylamide to yield the CoA−PS series, or (4) polymerizing α,ω-dicarboxyl end-capped polystyrenes with l-lysine-1-pyrenemethylamide dihydrochloride to yield the ES−PS series. Steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence experiments demonstrated that the long and flexible linker of GrE−PS and CoE−PS enabled more efficient excimer formation than the short and rigid linker of CoA−PS, and that spac...