Influence of degree of methyl methacrylate polymerization on spectroscopic properties of ethyl 5-(4-aminophenyl)- and 5-(4-dimethylaminophenyl)-3-amino-2,4-dicyanobenzoate

The influence of degree of methyl methacrylate (MM) polymerization on the both emission modes (LE—locally excited and ICT—intramolecular charge transfer) of the fluorescence spectrum of ethyl 5-(4-aminophenyl)-3-amino-2,4-dicyanobenzoate (EAADCy) and ethyl 5-(4-dimethylaminophenyl)-3-amino-2,4-dicyanobenzoate (EDMAADCy) has been studied using steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopic technique. The purpose of these studies was to find a relationship between the changes in the spectroscopic characteristics (fluorescence intensity, wavelength of maximum intensity, fluorescence full-width at half maximum, emission anisotropy, fluorescence decay time) of the tested compounds and degree of monomer conversion into polymer. On the basis of the experimental results, it was shown that the ICT fluorescence full-width at half maximum for EDMAADCy shows a linear dependence on the time of MM polymerization. Our findings predestine the molecule EDMAADCy to be used as fluorescence probe for monitoring the polymerization process of MM.