Emission from the stable Blatter radical

Abstract

1,3-Diaryl-1,4-dihydro-1,2,4-benzotriazin-4-yls are air stable organic radicals which have been exploited for their interesting magnetic properties. Herein, we present the optical properties of the “parent” radical namely 1,3-diphenyl-1,4-dihydro-1,2,4-benzotriazin-4-yl (aka “the Blatter radical”), which possesses absorption bands that span the UV and visible spectrum that lead to broadband emission across the same spectral region. As shown in our experiments, the emission originates from excited electronic states of the radical, with, however, low quantum yield. Emission across the visible is also observed from thin films of the radical when inserted into PMMA matrices. As radical concentration within the polymer matrix is increased, systematic modifications in the spectral and temporal characteristics of the fluorescence indicate the formation of radical ground state aggregates.