Responsive Fluorescent Nanorods from Coassembly of Fullerene (C60) and Anthracene-Ended Hyperbranched Poly(ether amine) (AN-hPEA)

Abstract

We herein demonstrated a novel multiresponsive fluorescent nanorod based on C60, which is fabricated through the versatile coassembly of fullerene C60 and anthracene-ended hyperbranched poly(ether amine) (AN-hPEA). The supramolecular nanorods (C60@AN-hPEA) can be further cross-linked through photodimerization of anthracene, and the size of the obtained nanorods is 2–12 μm in length and 50–90 nm in diameter. C60@AN-hPEA nanorods are amphiphilic, responsive, and fluorescent. The fluorescence of C60@AN-hPEA nanorods in aqueous solution is responsive to temperature and pH. The C60@AN-hPEA-1/4 nanorods exhibit the interesting temperature-enhanced fluorescence, while the fluorescence intensity of AN-hPEA without C60 decreases with the increasing temperature. Detailed fluorescence study revealed that the temperature-enhanced fluorescence behavior of C60@AN-hPEA-1/4 nanorods might be ascribed to the static quenching of the excited anthracene by C60.