Oligo(maleic anhydride)s: a platform for unveiling the mechanism of clusteroluminescence of non-aromatic polymers

Abstract

Luminescent materials without conventional aromatic groups have attracted extensive attention in recent years. However, the luminescence mechanism has been obscure and debatable. In the present study, based on oligo(maleic anhydride)s (OMAhs), alternative polymer of poly[(maleic anhydride)-alt-(2,4,4-trimethyl-1-pentene)] (PMP) and copolymers containing different ratios of OMAhs, we have proposed that the luminescence of OMAhs stems from the cluster. Moreover, a mechanism of clusteroluminescence was studied in detail with the assistance of theoretical simulation, which attributed the phenomenon to the intra- and inter-chain n → π* interaction of carbonyl groups of SAh units in OMAhs. Thus, the proposed study will give insights into designing luminescent materials with nonconventional groups.