Two pyrazoline-based fluorescent and colorimetric probes have been synthesized and their photophysical properties have been investigated by means of electronic absorption and emission spectroscopy. The compounds differ from each other by the presence of a phenyl or thiophene end group attached to the α,β-unsaturated ketone. The probes detect sulphite anions in the Michael addition reaction to the α,β-unsaturated ketone with a high selectivity and good sensitivity (7.56 μM for phenyl and 4.87 μM for the thiophene counterpart). Here, the optical response is based on the recovery of triphenylpyrazoline fluorescence, which is largely blue-shifted as compared to weak charge transfer emission of the sensors. This large hypsochromic shift of the emission maximum along with a strong fluorescence enhancement (up to I^sulphite/I₀ = 43) can be an advantage in terms of the accurate evaluation of the fluorescence intensity ratio. The pyrazoline-based sensor decorated with thiophene is able to detect sulphite species in river water solutions with a good selectivity and sensitivity.

New 6-CF₃-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-b]quinolines with a methyl and/or phenyl group attached to the pyrazole core (Molx (x = 1, 2, 3, 4)) were synthesized and characterized in terms of their optoelectronic applications: photovoltaic and electroluminescence. The fluorescence emissions of the investigated phenyl-decorated pyrazoloquinolines is caused by the photoinduced charge transfer p process occurring between the phenyl substituent and the pyrazoloquinoline core, while 1,3-dimethyl-6-CF₃-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-b]quinoline exhibits an π,π*-type emission. The number of phenyls and their substitution positions modulate both emission properties and HOMO energy levels. Next, the bulk heterojunction BHJ solar cells based on 1H-pyrazolo[3,4-b] quinoline derivatives with architecture ITO/PEDOT:PSS/PDT + Molx/Al were fabricated. The organic active layer was a blend of Molx and poly(3-decylthiophene-2,5-diyl). The complex refractive index and the layer thickness of the organic solar cells were determined using a spectroscopic ellipsometer Woollam M2000 (J.A. Woollam Co., Inc., Lincoln, NE, USA) and CompleteEASE software. For solar devices with the best value of power efficiency of approximately 0.38%, the thickness of the active layer (Mol3 + PDT) was 111 nm, with a short-circuit current density of J_SC = 32.81 μA/cm² and an open–circuit voltage of V_OC = 0.78 V. Finally, we demonstrated double-layer light-emitting diodes with an organic active layer (Molx + PVK) and an electron transporting material layer, ETM (2-[3,5-bis(4-phenyl-2-quinolyl)phenyl]-4-phenylquinoline (Tris-Q). Bright bluish-green light originating from the active layer was observed in the double-layer device, ITO/PEDOT:PSS/active layer/ETM/Ca/A. The active layer was a mixture of PV-doped 1H-pyrazolo[3, 4-b]quinoline dyes. An OLED device was constructed by employing Molx as an emitter, which gave a deep bluish-green emission with the spectra range of 481–506 nm. The best value of the maximum brightness at approximately 1436.0 cd/m2 was achieved for a diode based on Mol3 (1-phenyl-3-phenyl-6-CF₃-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-b]quinoline) and [R¹ = Ph, R³ = Ph and R⁶ = CF₃]. The current efficiency was up to 1.26 cd/A at 506 nm with a CIE of 0.007, 0.692.

The photophysical and sensory properties of the donor–acceptor pyrazoloquinoline derivative (PQPc) were investigated using absorption, steady-state, and time-resolved fluorescence measurements. The compound synthesized from commercial, readily available substrates exhibited absorptions in the UV–Vis range, with a maximum of the longwave band around 390 nm. The maximum fluorescence was around 460–480 nm, depending on the solvent. The quantum yield was between 12.87% (for n-hexane) and 0.75% (for acetonitrile) and decreased with increasing solvent polarity. The PET mechanism was implicated as the cause of fluorescence quenching. Divalent ions such as Zn²⁺, Pb²⁺, Cd²⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, Co²⁺, Ni²⁺, and Cu²⁺ were introduced to study the fluorescent response of PQPc. A 13-times increase in fluorescence quantum yield was observed after the addition of Zn²⁺ ions. Detailed research was carried out for the PQPc-Zn²⁺ system in order to check the possibility of analytical applications of PQPc as a fluorescent sensor. A detection limit of Zn²⁺ was set at the value level 1.93 × 10⁻⁷ M. PQPc-Zn²⁺ complexes had a stoichiometry of 1:1 with a binding constant of 859 M⁻¹. Biological studies showed that the sensor was localized in cells near the membrane and cytoplasm and may be used to detect zinc ions in eukaryotic cells.

The high stability and conductivity of 3,4-disubstituted polythiophenes such as poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) make them attractive candidates for commercial applications. However, next-generation nanoelectronic devices require novel macromolecular strategies for the precise synthesis of advanced polymer structures as well as their arrangement. In this report, we present a synthetic route to make ladder-like polymer brushes with poly(3,4-propylenedioxythiophene) (PProDOT)-conjugated chains. The brushes were prepared via a self-templating surface-initiated technique (ST-SIP) that combines the surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) of bifunctional ProDOT-based monomers and subsequent oxidative polymerization of the pendant ProDOT groups in the parent brushes. The brushes prepared in this way were characterized by grazing-angle FTIR, XPS spectroscopy, and AFM. Steady-state and time-resolved photoluminescence measurements were used to extract the information about the structure and effective conjugation length of PProDOT-based chains. Stability tests performed in ambient conditions and under exposure to standardized solar light revealed the remarkable stability of the obtained materials.