Triplet energy transport in platinum-acetylide light harvesting arrays

Light harvesting and triplet energy transport is investigated in chromophore-functionalized polystyrene polymers featuring light harvesting and energy acceptor chromophores (traps) at varying loading. The series of precision polymers was constructed via reversible addition-fragmentation transfer polymerization and functionalized with platinum acetylide triplet chromophores by using an azide-alkyne "click" reaction. The polymers have narrow polydispersity and degree of polymerization ∼60. The chromophores have the general structure, trans-[-R-C₆H₄-C=C-Pt(PBu₃)₂-C=C-Ar], where R is the attachment point to the polystyrene backbone and Ar is either-C₆H₄-C=C-Ph or-pyrenyl (PE2-Pt and Py-Pt, respectively, with triplet energies of 2.35 and 1.88 eV). The polychromophores contain mainly the high-energy PE2-Pt units (light absorber and energy donor), with randomly distributed Py-Pt units (3-20% loading, energy acceptor). Photophysical methods are used to study the dynamics and efficiency of energy transport from the PE2-Pt to Py-Pt units in the polychromophores. The energy transfer efficiency is >90% for copolymers that contain 5% of the Py-Pt acceptor units. Time-resolved phosphorescence measurements combined with Monte Carlo exciton dynamics simulations suggest that the mechanism of exciton transport is exchange energy transfer hopping between PE2-Pt units.