Advanced luminescent materials
Electrochemiluminescence (ECL) is a particular form of chemiluminescence in which the emission of light is produced by the reaction of electrochemically generated reactants. In ECL the emission intensity is usually proportional to the concentration of the emitting species, which leads to its very broad application in diagnostics as a powerful analytical tool. Immobilization at electrode surfaces has some significant advantages over solution-phase ECL, such as simpler experimental design and (usually) enhancement of ECL sensitivity through the spatial confinement of the emitters at the electrode surface. Our goal in the field of new ECL dyes are focused on the design of highly efficient compounds emitting at various wavelengths complementary to those of the standards in order to develop multi-coloured sensors and devices. Organic emitters showing thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) are the most promising emitters for novel efficient lighting systems. TADF phenomenon is observable when the energy difference between the lowest singlet (S1) and triplet (T1) excited states is small and thus easily overcome. Our main interest is the development of new TADF fluorescent dyes, which can be applied differently as ECL dyes, in display technologies and as label for bioimaging. The new emitters are investigated by their photophysical and electrochemical properties in solution and onto surface.
