Distinct Interfacial Fluorescence in Oil-in-Water Emulsions via Exciton Migration of Conjugated Polymers

Abstract

Commercial dyes are extensively utilized to stain specific phases for the visualization applications in emulsions and bioimaging. In general, dyes emit only one specific fluorescence signal and thus, in order to stain various phases and/or interfaces, one needs to incorporate multiple dyes and carefully consider their compatibility to avoid undesirable interactions with each other and with the components in the system. Herein, surfactant‐type, perylene‐endcapped fluorescent conjugated polymers that exhibit two different emissions are reported, which are cyan in water and red at oil–water interfaces. The interfacially distinct red emission results from enhanced exciton migration from the higher‐bandgap polymer backbone to the lower‐bandgap perylene endgroup. The confocal microscopy images exhibit the localized red emission exclusively from the circumference of oil droplets. This exciton migration and dual fluorescence of the polymers in different physical environments can provide a new concept of visualization methods in many amphiphilic colloidal systems and bioimaging.