Efficient generation of singlet oxygen by perylene diimide photosensitizers covalently bound to conjugate polymers

Abstract

New conjugated polymers with perylene diimides (PDI) as pendant groups were synthesized and deposited on glass substrates by the spin coating. The resulting thin films were characterized by UV–vis, Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy and profilometry. It was shown that PDI photosensitizers retain its photoactivity after covalent immobilization and the formed layers can be applied as efficient and environmentally stable source of singlet oxygen, 1O2, as tested with 1,3-diphenylisobenzofuran (DPBF) specific trap. Additionally, α-terpinene heterogeneous photooxidation was studied as the practical use of singlet oxygen generated by this novel PDI-based materials. The use of such heterogeneous source of singlet oxygen can be beneficial for the fine chemicals synthesis, due to simplified products isolation and purification step.