Simulation of Direct Electronic Energy Transfer between Donors and Acceptors Embedded in a Rubbery Phase Network in Glassy Particles

Abstract

By direct electronic energy transfer fluorescence technique the temporal behavior of donors in the presence of acceptors when both types of molecules are embedded in a rubbery phase PIB forming an interconnected network within glassy PMMA spheres is studied. The experimental results are compared with simulations of the decay curves in (i) bag of marbles geometry where the PMMA particles are formed of glassy marbles, and the PIB fills the intervening spaces, (ii) the rubbery phase forms channels in the otherwise solid glassy PMMA sphere. For the latter case we analyzed both parallel and perpendicular PIB channels. The experimental and simulated data are compared by both the fractal analysis method and by obtaining the Klafter-Blumen dimension from the derivative of the ln(InI) with respect to Int. On the basis of our results we give preference to the rubbery PIB channels within solid glassy PMMA model over the bag of marbles model.

Key Words:

• Fluorescence decay
• direct energy transfer
• apparent dimension
• model simulations.