The model-free analysis (MFA) was applied to measure the average rate constant (<k>) for pyrene excimer formation (PEF) in a series of pyrene-labeled dendrons referred to as Pyx-G(N), where x (= 2N) is the number of pyrenyl labels born by a dendron of generation N ranging from 1 to 6. <k> was measured in four different solvents, namely tetrahydrofuran (THF), toluene, N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), and dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO). <k> was found to increase linearly with increasing local pyrene concentration ([Py]loc), where [Py]loc had been determined mathematically for the Pyx-G(N) dendrons. The slope of each straight line changed with the nature of the solvent and represented kdiff, the bimolecular rate constant for PEF. kdiff depended on the solvent viscosity (η) and the probability (p) for PEF upon encounter between an excited and a ground-state pyrene. In a same solvent, kdiff for the Pyx-G(N) dendrons was about 360 ± 30 times smaller than kdiff obtained for ethyl 4-(1-pyrene)butyrate (PyBE), a pyrene model compound similar to the pyrene derivative used to label the dendrons. The massive decrease in kdiff observed for the Pyx-G(N) samples reflected the massive loss in mobility experienced by the pyrenyl labels after being covalently attached onto a macromolecule compared to freely diffusing PyBE. Interestingly, the kdiff values obtained for the Pyx-G(N) dendrons and the PyBE model compound followed similar trends as a function of solvent, indicating that the difference in behavior between the kdiff values obtained in different solvents were merely due to the changes in the η and p values between the solvents. Normalizing the <k> values obtained with the Pyx-G(N) dendrons by the kdiff values obtained for PyBE in the same solvents accounted for changes in η and p, resulting in a master curve upon plotting <k>/(fdiff × kdiff) as a function of [Py]loc, where fdiff was introduced to account for some pyrene aggregation in the higher generation dendron (Py64-G(6)). This result demonstrates that <k> represents a direct measure of [Py]loc in pyrene-labeled macromolecules.

Figure 1. Schematic representation of the pyrene species Py* diff , Py* free , and Py* agg for a pyrene-labeled dendron.Note

This study provides experimental evidence that di(1-pyrenylmethyl) ether or DiPyMe, a wellknown fluorescent probe employed to determine the microviscosity of surfactant or polymeric micelles, is being hydrolyzed in the presence of water upon UV irradiation. This effect was

The long-range internal dynamics (LRID) of 74 pyrene-labeled macromolecules (PyLMs) were characterized in four solvents representing a broad range of dielectric constants equal to 2.4 (toluene), 7.6 (tetra­hydrofuran, THF), 37.8 (N,N-dimethyl­formamide, DMF), and 46.7 (dimethyl sulfoxide, DMSO). The LRID of the PyLMs were quantified based on the parameters retrieved from the global model free analysis (MFA) of the time-resolved fluorescence (TRF) decays of the pyrene monomer and excimer. These parameters were combined to yield ⟨k⟩, the average rate constant of pyrene excimer formation in the PyLMs, and (I E/I M)TRF(f free = 0), the ratio of excimer to monomer fluorescence intensity obtained in the absence of pyrene labels that do not form excimer. (I E/I M)TRF(f free = 0) was found to increase linearly with increasing ⟨k⟩ values over 3 orders of magnitude in the four solvents studied with a slope that equaled the average lifetime of the pyrene excimer (τE). The ⟨k⟩ values obtained to build these master lines could be correlated back to the expected LRID of the macromolecules. The lowest ⟨k⟩ values were obtained for the end-labeled linear chains holding the pyrene groups far apart, whereas the branched macromolecules bringing the pyrene labels close to each other yielded the larger ⟨k⟩ values. Furthermore, the fact that these master curves were observed for so many different PyLMs in the four solvents covering such a broad range of solvent polarity suggests that this relationship represents a general physical phenomenon that applies to all PyLMs. Considering the importance of characterizing the LRID of macromolecules in solution, the (I E/I M)TRF(f free = 0) vs ⟨k⟩ plots presented in this report can be viewed as calibration curves against which the LRID of any PyLM can now be compared. Thus, the 3 orders of magnitude range found for these master curves offers the scientific community an impressive analytical opportunity to gauge the LRID of macromolecules in solution.

Abstract:A poly(dimethylsiloxane-co-(3-aminopropyl)methylsiloxane) polymer (PDMS with 20.3 mol % of (3-aminopropyl)methyl siloxane monomer) has been labeled randomly with 1-pyreneacetyl groups to generate a series of polysiloxanes (Py-PDMS) with pyrenyl contents ranging from 0.7 mol % to 5.2 mol % of the total number of structural units. The remainder of the amino groups were acetylated to avoid intra-chain quenching of the excited singlet states of pyrene via exciplex formation with free amino groups while allowing the formation of excimers to proceed. The fluorescence spectra and temporal decays of the Py-PDMS samples were acquired in tetrahydrofuran (THF), N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), and dioxane. blob , the average rate constant for intra-chain pyrene excimer formation, was determined from the analysis of the fluorescence decays. blob was found to equal 1.16 (±0.13) × 10 9 , 1.14 (±0.12) × 10 9 , and 0.99 (±0.10) × 10 9 s −1 in THF, DMF, and dioxane, respectively, at room temperature. They are the largest values found to date for any polymeric backbone in these solvents. The qualitative relationship found here between blob and the chemical structures of the polymers indicates that the luminescence characteristics of randomly labeled polymers is a very useful method to probe the long range dynamics of chains of almost any polymer that is amenable to substitution by a lumophore.