Structure-photoluminescence correlation for two crystalline polymorphs of a thiophene-phenylene co-oligomer with bulky terminal substituents

Two crystal polymorphs of a thiophene-phenylene hexamer with bulky terminal substituents are characterized by different molecular conformations and parallel versus herringbone packing. Irrespective of their similar emissive spectra and common H-aggregate features, evidenced by crystal structure analysis and confirmed by solid-phase and excited-state first-principles calculations, their luminescence is relatively high and, for one form, nearly double than that for the other. Interaromatic packing energy contributions are established by quantum chemical calculations and can be compared quantitatively as the same species in different crystal environments is examined. The different luminescence efficiency of the two phases highlights the crucial role of the interaromatic packing for the luminescence properties of polyaromatic oligomers. © 2014 American Chemical Society.