Thiol–ene click chemistry: a modular approach to solid-state triplet–triplet annihilation upconversion

Abstract

The advancement of triplet–triplet annihilation based upconversion (TTA-UC) in emerging technologies necessitates the development of solid-state systems that are readily accessible and broadly applicable. Here, we demonstrate that thiol–ene click chemistry can be used as a facile cure-on-demand synthetic route to access elastomeric films capable of TTA-UC. Photopolymerization of multifunctional thiols in the presence of a thiol-functionalized 9,10-diphenylanthracene (DPA) emitter results in covalent DPA integration and homogenous crosslinked polymer networks. The palladium(II) octaethylporphyrin (PdOEP) sensitizer is subsequently introduced into the films through solution immersion. Upon excitation at 544 nm, green-to-blue upconversion is observed with compositional tuning resulting in an optimal upconverted emission intensity at 1.0 wt% DPA and 0.02 wt% PdOEP. The effectiveness of thiol–ene networks to function as robust host materials for solid-state TTA-UC is further demonstrated by improved photostability in air.