Quantum yield enhancement of photoluminescent polycyanate resin by blending with 1-pyrenecarboxylic acid

Polycyclotrimerization of aromatic dicyanate (i.e. bisphenol A dicyanate (BPADCy)) generates photoluminescent (PL) polycyanate (PCn) crosslinked resin with s-triazine ring as the interconnecting point. This inherent s-triazine ring in PCn resin is hydrogen-bond (H-bond) acceptor; therefore, an H-bond donor, 1-pyrenecarboxylic acid (PCA), was used in this study to mix and to co-cure with BPADCy to prepare miscible thin films of PCn/PCA blends through the favorable H-bond interactions. The resulting PCn/PCA blends show their emission patterns characteristic of the PCA and PCn components. An energy transfer process from the PCn matrix to the incorporated PCA is the dominant emission process. Addition of ∼0.7 wt% of PCA in PCn results in the great enhancement on the PL quantum yield from a value of 3.9% for the pure PCn to 54.8% for the corresponding blend.