Soret emission from water-soluble porphyrin thin films: effect on the electroluminescence response

Abstract

The emission properties of TSPP [tetrakis(4-sulfonatophenyl) porphyrin] and TMPyP [tetrakis(4-methylpyridyl) porphyrin] in thin films, prepared both by the Langmuir–Blodgett technique and the spin-coating method, have been investigated. Surprisingly, in most of the samples analyzed, the emission spectra do not show the usual two bands typical of porphyrins (in the region 650–750 nm), and depend strongly on the excitation energy. The origin of a new emission band detected at ∼480–500 nm is discussed in terms of the nature of the porphyrin aggregates. Moreover, we demonstrate that the presence or absence of this band in the fluorescence spectrum is directly related to the generation of electroluminescence in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), built from such porphyrin films as emitting layers.