Synthesis and characterization of lawsone incorporated singlet oxygen generating conjugated polymers: Experimental and computational studies

The present work reports ultrasound-assisted synthesis of lawsone (LW) incorporated conjugated polymers of 1-naphthylamine, p-phenylenediamine, pyrrole, and thiophene. The spectral properties were established by experimental as well as computational studies. The theoretical calculations were performed on Gaussian 09 software using DFT/B3LYP method with using 6-311++(d,p) basis set. The experimental IR spectra of the polymers were found to be in close agreement with the theoretical spectra. The electronic transitions observed in the experimental UV spectra also matched the theoretical spectra. XRD and TEM studies confirmed the variation in the morphological properties upon incorporation of LW. The confocal studies showed intense emission in the blue and red regions. The ¹O₂ generation study was also carried out using DPBF assay which displayed highest quantum yield value of 0.11 for Ppy-LW. The polymers hold potential to be used as fluorescent probes for the early detection and diagnosis of various diseases.