Energy Transfer in Mixtures of Water- Soluble Oligomers: Effect of Charge, Aggregation, and Surfactant Complexation

What enhances the energy transfer between oppositely charged polyelectrolytes in water? To evaluate this, the authors synthesized oligo- and polymeric counterions (see Figure for an example of a polycation) and measured fluorescence quenching. The effect was biggest for polymers in the presence of a large excess of surfactant, stressing the influence of supramolecular aggregation of the chromophores.