Photoblinking dynamics in single calix[4]arene-linked perylene bisimide dimers

We have studied the fluorescence from individual bridge-linked perylene bisimide dimers and observed blinking over three decades in time which reveals a power-law distribution for the 'off' times. The time traces featured three distinct levels of intensity which we assign to the dimer, monomer and background level, respectively. Based on the chronological order of the occurence of the intensity levels we grouped the time traces into three categories and come to the conclusion that for one of these groups the blinking behaviour is governed by a mechanism that is reminiscent to Coulomb blockade in semiconductor quantum dots. (C) 2009 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.