Triggering near-infrared luminescence of vanadyl phthalocyanine by charging

Abstract

Probing electrofluorochromism (EFC) at the molecular level remains challenging. Here we study the strongly charge state-dependent photoluminescence of vanadyl phthalocyanine. We report vibrationally resolved absorption and laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) spectra of samples comprising both the mass-selected neutral molecule (VOPc⋅, a stable radical) and its cation produced upon electron ionization (EI) isolated in 5 K neon matrices. Ionization of the essentially non-emissive VOPc⋅ forms a high-spin diradical cation (VOPc+.) which shows profound photoluminescence (PL) in the NIR range. This unique phenomenon is potentially of interest for NIR-emitting electro-optic devices.