Impact of Polymer Rigidity on the Thermoresponsive Luminescence and Electron Spin Resonance of Polyester-Tethered Single Radicals

Stable organic radicals represent a unique type of functional materials for a broad scope of applications in optoelectronic and spintronic devices. A central challenge toward these applications is how to suppress the inter-radical aggregation that often causes aggregation-induced photoluminescence quenching and limits the correlation lifetime of the electron spins from the radicals. Here, we report an effective approach to fine-tuning luminescence and spin dynamics using a series of polyester-tethered single radicals, with a common core of carbazole-triphenylmethyl radical but different chains of polyesters with distinct glass transition temperature and rigidity. The rigidity of the polymeric matrices plays a critical role in tuning the luminescence and electron spin resonance of the radicals. The tunable properties of luminescence and electron spin dynamics as well as the robust photostability of such polymer-tethered single radicals represent important attributes for cutting-edge applications in optoelectronic devices and quantum information technologies.