Controlled Light Emission in Spin-Assisted Layer-by-Layer Assemblies with Fluorophores

We report controlled light emissions from spin-assisted layer-by-layer (LbL) thin films containing a donor–acceptor pair of fluorescent dyes. Based on their spectral overlap, we selected rhodamine 123 (R123) and rhodamine B (RB) as the donor and acceptor, respectively. For the construction of multilayered thin films, a complex of each dye and poly(sodium 4-sulfonate) (PSS-R123 and PSS-RB) was prepared and then alternately spin coated with poly(allyamine hydrochloride) (PAH). LbL assemblies were fabricated with a sequence of [PAH/PSS-RB]/〈[PAH/PSS]〉 _n /[PAH/PSS-R123]. Since the distance between R123 and RB was precisely adjusted by the number of bilayers (n) of [PAH/PSS] between them, we were able to tune the light emission from the thin film by controlling the efficiency of the energy transfer.