This study presents two series of new host–guest chromophoric systems, where BODIPY dyes are organized into mesoporous silica. The dyes self‐assemble with surfactants to generate micellar templates that can direct the formation of the silica networks. The materials were characterized by means of small‐angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to elucidate their structure, and by UV/Vis absorption spectroscopy to determine their optical properties. Dye‐loaded COK‐12 materials retain an ordered structure and exhibit a green fluorescence that slightly red‐shifts and undergoes quenching as the dye loading increases. A second system is based on MCM‐41 silica and works as a polychromatic antenna, where a high energy species forms within the template and drive excitation energy transfer in timescales down to 20 ps. Such systems show promising performances for the realization of photonic antennae, to be used as sensitizers for solar cells and photocatalytic devices.
The presented study reports the use of photoactive templating structures for the design of porous frameworks with built-in optical functionalities. The materials have been synthesised and characterised using powder X-ray diffractometry, UV-visible absorption and emission spectroscopy. The latter shows that, by varying the relative amount of an amphiphilic chromophore in the micellar templates, it is possible to tune the light absorption and emission properties over the visible spectrum, by means of controlling the molecular organisation and the excitonic coupling of aggregated species. This enables versatile solid materials that can be used as optical components for light-harvesting and converting systems to be obtained .
The Cover Feature illustrates how controlling the dye‐loading into mesoporous organosilica can be exploited to tune the fluorescence colour and obtain light‐harvesting antennae with fast energy transfer rates. More information can be found in the Article by F. Cucinotta et al. on page 196 in Issue 3, 2018 (DOI: 10.1002/cptc.201700144).
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