Synthesis and Optical Properties of Ion-Selective Polyamides Bearing a Phenanthrene Chromophore

Abstract

This work aims to synthesize a phenanthrene-containing diamine monomer, 9,10-bis(4-aminophenoxy)phenanthrene, and its derived high-performance poly(ether amide)s. Optoelectronic properties such as absorption, fluorescent, and metal-ion sensing behaviors of these phenanthrene-based polyamides were investigated. A series of poly(ether amide)s, based on phenanthrene-containing diamine and aromatic/aliphatic dicarboxylic acids, was synthesized via the direct phosphorylation polyamidation technique. These polymers exhibited good solubility in many polar organic solvents and could render robust amorphous films via solution casting. These poly(ether amide)s exhibited a high thermal stability of up to 538 °C at 10 wt % loss under a nitrogen atmosphere, as well as moderate to high glass transition temperatures (232–338 °C). Particularly, these polyamides also revealed a violet to deep blue-light emission with good fluorescence quantum yield and selective metal-ion sensing functionality.