Exploiting the aggregachromic features of organic dopants for the development of chromogenic polymers and luminescent plastic collectors

Chromogenic organic molecules can be incorporated into polymers to transfer their optical properties to the matrix, obtaining plastic materials with novel functions. Chromogenic materials change their optical properties as a response to various stimuli, and the chromic response takes place when the energy associated to the solicitation is able to perturb the opto-electronic behavior of the embedded probes. Those materials are also associated to a bright fluorescence that can be also exploited for the development of plastic collectors for photovoltaics. In this thesis, chromogenic organic molecules with Aggregation-Induced Emission (AIE) or Aggregation-Induced Enhanced Emission (AIEE) have been used for the preparation of mechanochromic and thermochromic polymers to detect external stress induced by mechanical strain or temperature variations. A bright luminophore has been also used as dopant for acrylic solar collectors, thus also showing applications in the renewable energy field.