Facile Synthesis and Photoluminescent Properties of Asymmetric Perylene Diimides Capable of Tuning Emission Colors in Polymeric Matrices.

We report the facile synthesis of asymmetric perylene diimides (asym-PDIs) using readily available reagents, demonstrating their distinct photoluminescent properties. In CHCl 3 , asym-PDIs exhibit higher solubility compared to traditional perylene dyes, of which solubilities can be varied by substituent selections. Among them, UV-vis absorption spectra of CPE in CHCl 3 solution displayed no aggregate peaks in the ground state, maintaining high photoluminescent quantum yields. Also, CPE can be readily dispersed into poly(methyl methacrylate) PMMA (CPE-PMMA), forming thin films without aggregate formation. Importantly, the emission color of CPE-PMMA thin films significantly changes with the addition of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). These color changes should be strongly correlated with the HOMO level of the added PAHs.