Synthesis, Photochemical and Photophysical Behavior of Vinyl Monomers with Donor/Acceptor Architectures and Their Polymers

A series of vinyl monomers and their saturated model compounds containing different chromophores were synthesized. These monomers display strong intra-molecular fluorescence quenching, their fluorescence quantum yields and lifetimes are generally lower than those of their model compounds. It was found that the C=C bonds in these monomers played a key role in the intra-molecular quenching, which was confirmed by intermolecular fluorescence quenching and time-resolved fluorescence studies. On the basis of the intra-molecular quenching, a new fluorescence approach can be developed to monitor the process of the polymerization and curing of bismaleimides, which can directly reflect the C=C bond consumption during polymerization and curing.