Poly(benzyl ether) dendrimers with strongly fluorescent distyrylbenzene cores as the fluorophores for peroxyoxalate chemiluminescence: insulating effect of dendritic structures on fluorescent sites

Poly(benzyl ether) dendrimers containing strongly fluorescent distyrylbenzene cores were synthesized, and their fluorescence and electrochemical properties as well as the action as fluorophores in the chemiluminescence reactions were investigated. While all the dendrimers exhibited almost the same properties except for their intensities, a characteristic feature due to the dendritic structure was observed in the electrochemical behaviors. In the peroxyoxalate chemiluminescence reactions using these dendrimers as fluorophores, a bimolecular interaction between the high-energy intermediates and fluorophores was established, and a decrease in the chemiluminescence intensity with an increasing generation was observed, which was connected with the insulating effect of the dendritic structures on the core.