Scientists at Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU) have made an important discovery in the field of "glowing" molecules. The level of their brightness can be adjusted depending on the size and structure. The discovery of specialists can become the basis for the development of flexible OLED displays and elements of organic solar batteries.
Glowing molecules, known as zinc-porphyrin oligomers, are actively used in biomedical imaging and organic electronics. Previously, scientists could not explain why the fluorescence of these molecules differs from what standard theories predict.
The study, conducted under the leadership of Elena Stepanova, revealed the mechanisms of fluorescence. Scientists have discovered that the brightness of molecules depends on the length of the chain of their links. Short chains emit only 1% of the possible light, while medium-length molecules (three to four links) reach 41% brightness. Long chains lose energy in the form of heat, which reduces their brightness.
The established dependencies allow you to adjust the fluorescence of molecules and they can be used for diagnostics in biomedicine, as well as for creating new technologies in organic electronics. The study is supported by the program of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia and published in the journal "Chemical Physics Letters."
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