New FLUOrescent HYBrid nanomaterials based on Aggregation-Induced Emission (AIE) organic ligands grafted to inorganic nanoparticles – FluoHyb

Pi-Conjugated oligomers and polymers based on a planar backbone of sp2-bonded carbon atoms have attracted increasing interest in recent years owing to their potential application for electronic devices. For example, light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) for display based on polymer technology are commercialized since 2002. However, research in this field is still needed especially toward the development of optimized materials for white-LEDs. This type of devices is of tremendous interest since they can potentially replace traditional incandescent white light sources generating enormous energy saving. The aim of this project is the development of highly luminescent hybrids which can be used for the development of optoelectronic devices like light-emitting diodes (LEDs). To develop these new materials, we will graft Aggregation-Induced Emission organic fluorophores (AIE) on inorganic nanoparticles like ZnO, ZrO2... The grafting, via an anchoring group part of the pi-system, will concentrate a large number of chromophores at the surface and particularly freeze the motion of the molecules to reduce non-radiative deactivations. One of our objectives concerns the development of a synthetic method, easy to implement, reproducible and permits to obtain large quantities of modified nanoparticles. In particular, phospholes, siloles and tetraphenylethylene, which AIE properties have already been demonstrated on “all organic” system will be studied. One objective will be to prepare AIE fluorophores emitting different wavelengths in the visible range. Furthermore, we will study in detail the interactions between the organic fluorophore and the nanoparticle by varying different parameters (nature and position of the grafting function, shape of the nanoparticle (sphere, rod...), and introduction of different substituents on the fluorophore). Finally, introduction of these new hybrid materials with tunable emission into specific LEDs structures using wet techniques to simplify the manufacturing processes of these devices is the main target of the project to develop white LEDs for lighting.