Quenching of fluorescence of aromatic molecules by graphene due to electron transfer

TL;DR

This study demonstrates that graphene can effectively quench the fluorescence of specific aromatic molecules through photo-induced electron transfer, as evidenced by spectroscopic measurements.

Contribution

It provides experimental evidence of fluorescence quenching by graphene via electron transfer for two organic molecules, expanding understanding of graphene's photophysical interactions.

Findings

Graphene causes significant fluorescence quenching of PyBS and OPV-ester.

Quenching is linked to photo-induced electron transfer, confirmed by spectroscopic data.

Fluorescence decay and transient absorption measurements support the electron transfer mechanism.

Abstract

Investigations on the fluorescence quenching of graphene have been carried out with two organic donor molecules, pyrene butanaoic acid succinimidyl ester (PyBS, I) and oligo(p-phenylenevinylene) methyl ester (OPV-ester, II). Absorption and photoluminescence spectra of I and II recorded in mixture with increasing the concentrations of graphene showed no change in the former, but remarkable quenching of fluorescence. The property of graphene to quench fluorescence of these aromatic molecules is shown to be associated with photo-induced electron transfer, on the basis of fluorescence decay and time-resolved transient absorption spectroscopic measurements.