Poly(styrene)-graft-/rhodamine 6G-fluoromica hybrids: synthesis, characterization and photophysical properties

Novel luminescent poly(styrene) (PS)-graft-/rhodamine 6G (R6G) dye-fluoromica clay hybrids have been synthesized and characterized by XRD, FTIR, TGA, DSC, SEC, UV-Vis, and continuous wave and time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopies. The materials have been prepared by a two-step process: (i) co-intercalation of a R6G and 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidyloxy (TEMPO) based alkoxyamine cation within the clay layers and (ii) surface-initiated TEMPO-mediated polymerization of styrene. The final hybrid materials exhibit an improved thermal and chemical stability with respect to the pure R6G and higher solution-processability with respect to the pristine fluoromica, allowing for the fabrication of films suitable for optoelectronic applications. The coverage of the inorganic layer surface and the interlayer dye arrangement can be controlled by varying the employed amount of TEMPO and R6G, thus permitting us to tune the materials' photo-functions as proved by the photophysical characterization.