Synthesis and preparation of fluorinated polycarbonates enhancing the light absorption of fluorescent nanoparticles

A new synthetic method for fluorinated polycarbonates without the use of any toxic phosgene gas is presented. The synthesis consists of a monomer synthesis followed by polymerization. The fluorinated polycarbonate (FPC) was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and NMR spectroscopy. The refractive index of the polymer was 1.466 determined by an Abbe refractometer. The contact angle measurement of the FPC films showed the hydrophobicity with water contact angle about 112.6°. These films of varying thicknesses had over 98% transmittance. Taking advantage of the hydrophobicity and high transmittance of the FPCs, nanoparticles of FPCs were prepared directly in an aqueous solution with a reprecipitation method. Combining FPC solution with a solution containing fluorescent polymer (DTMSPV), nanoparticles with a core-shell structure were obtained easily with the reprecipitation method. The fluorescence intensity of the DTMSPV in the core-shell nanoparticles were much enhanced up to 34.1% compared to the molecularly dispersed DTMSPV solution.