Journal article

Photophysics of a dithioester RAFT polymerization agent and the acenaphthenyl model light-harvesting chromophore

AD Kitchin, S Velate, M Chen, KP Ghiggino, TA Smith, RP Steer

Photochemical and Photobiological Sciences | Published : 2007

Abstract

The spectroscopic and photophysical properties of a typical dithiobenzoate reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization agent alone in solution, as a quencher of electronically excited acenaphthene in solution, and in an acenaphthene donor-dithiobenzoate acceptor dichromophore have been investigated. The RAFT agent is an effective quencher of photo-excited acenaphthene. Energy wastage in the dichromophore occurs by Förster resonant electronic energy transfer from the S1 state of acenaphthene to the S2 state of the dithioester, which subsequently fragments. © The Royal Society of Chemistry and Owner Societies.

University of Melbourne Researchers

Grants

Funding Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada for financial support and to the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the Province of Saskatchewan for infrastructure funding. We are also grateful to Dr Sophie Brunet of the Saskatchewan Structural Sciences Centre for technical assistance with lifetime measurements, and to Mr. Aubrey Winquist for assistance with degassing experiments. KG and TS thank the Australian Research Council Discovery Grant program for support.