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Ultraviolet-activated long-lived room-temperature phosphorescence from small organic molecule-doped polymer systems

紫外光激活有机小分子掺杂聚合物体系的长寿命室温磷光

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Abstract

Long-lived organic room-temperature phosphorescent (RTP) materials have attracted widespread attention because of their fantastic properties and application prospects. The current methods for developing RTP materials are mainly based on the synthesis of new chromophore molecules and crystallization engineering. However, there are great challenges in the preparation of new chromophore molecules and the use of crystalline materials. Herein, dynamic stimulus-responsive long-lived RTP systems with various emission colors are realized by doping organic chromophore molecules into polymer matrix prepared from vinyl acetate and acrylic acid. Through UV light irradiation, the growth process of long-lived RTP phenomena can be observed for up to 10 s. In particular, the phosphorescence intensity, lifetime, afterglow brightness, and quantum yield of one representative film (P2-M2) increase by 155, 262, 414, and 8 times after the irradiation, respectively. The unique photophysical phenomena are ascribed to the oxygen consumption characteristics of the polymer matrix under UV irradiation. Meanwhile, the information storage devices are prepared with these RTP systems. This work provides a strategy for achieving small organic molecule-doped polymer RTP systems that are easy to prepare, low-cost, and widely adaptable.

摘要

长寿命有机室温磷光(RTP)材料因其优异的性能和应用前景而备受关注. 目前新型RTP材料的开发主要是通过合成新的发色团分子, 然后再通过结晶工程来实现. 然而, 新发色团分子的合成和结晶材料的制备都存在巨大挑战. 在本工作中, 我们利用醋酸乙烯酯和丙烯酸的共聚物作为基质, 将有机发色团分子掺杂到基质中, 制备了一系列余辉颜色不同的动态刺激响应长寿命RTP材料. 通过紫外光辐照, 可以在10秒内观察到RTP从无到有的增强过程. 以P2-M2薄膜为例, 辐照后其磷光强度、 寿命、 余辉亮度和量子产率分别提升了155、 262、 414和8倍. 这种独特的光物理现象归因于聚合物基质在紫外光照射下的耗氧特性. 同时, 我们探索了这些刺激响应RTP材料在信息存储领域的潜在应用. 本工作为制备简便、 成本低和普适性高的小分子掺杂聚合物RTP体系提供了一种新策略.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21875025), the Special Program of Chongqing Science and Technology Commission (cstc2018jcyjAX0296), the Innovation Research Group at the Institutions of Higher Education in Chongqing (CXQT19027), the Science and Technology Research Program of Chongqing Municipal Education Commission (KJZD-K201801101), Chongqing Talent Program, the Science and Technology Project of Banan District, and the Innovation Support Plan for the Returned Overseas of Chongqing (cx2020052). The research was also supported by Singapore Academic Research Fund (RT12/19 and MOE-MOET2EP10120-0003).

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  1. These authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Chongqing University of Technology, Chongqing, 400054, China

    Zhonghao Wang  (王中豪), Yan Zheng  (郑言), Yan Su  (苏艳), Liang Gao  (高亮), Yinyin Zhu  (朱银银), Jie Xia  (夏杰), Yongfeng Zhang  (张永锋), Chang Wang  (王畅), Xian Zheng  (郑贤), Chaolong Yang  (杨朝龙) & Youbing Li  (李又兵)

  2. Division of Chemistry and Biological Chemistry, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 637371, Singapore

    Yanli Zhao  (赵彦利) & Chaolong Yang  (杨朝龙)

Authors
  1. Zhonghao Wang  (王中豪)
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  2. Yan Zheng  (郑言)
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  3. Yan Su  (苏艳)
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  8. Chang Wang  (王畅)
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  9. Xian Zheng  (郑贤)
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  10. Yanli Zhao  (赵彦利)
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Contributions

Author contributions Wang Z and Yang C conceived the idea; Wang Z, Zheng Y, and Su Y carried out the synthesis, characterization, and analysis; Gao L, Zhu, Y, Xia J, Zhang Y, Wang C, Zheng X, and Li Y contributed to the measurements and data analyses; Wang Z and Yang C wrote the manuscript; Zhao Y and Yang C supervised the project. All authors discussed and reviewed the final version.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Yanli Zhao  (赵彦利) or Chaolong Yang  (杨朝龙).

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Conflict of interest The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Supplementary information Experimental details and supporting data are available in the online version of the paper.

Zhonghao Wang is now a Master candidate at the School of Materials Science and Engineering, Chongqing University of Technology. His research interest focuses on the organic long-lived room-temperature phosphorescence.

Yanli Zhao is currently the Lee Soo Ying Professor at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He received his BSc and PhD degrees under the supervision of Prof. Yu Liu from Nankai University. He was a postdoctoral scholar with Prof. Sir Fraser Stoddart (University of California, Los Angeles and subsequently Northwestern University) and Prof. Jeffrey Zink (University of California, Los Angeles). His current research focuses on integrated nanosystems for disease diagnostics and therapeutics, as well as porous nanomaterials for energy storage and catalysis.

Chaolong Yang received his PhD degree in polymer chemistry and physics from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2013. Then, he joined the School of Materials Science and Engineering, Chongqing University of Technology as an assistant professor. During September 2016 to October 2017, he worked at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore as a Research Fellow, where he focused on the design and development of organic optoelectronic materials. He has been a full professor at Chongqing University of Technology since November 2018. His research concerns polymers and optoelectronic materials and their applications.

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Ultraviolet-activated long-lived room temperature phosphorescence from small organic molecule-doped polymer systems

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Wang, Z., Zheng, Y., Su, Y. et al. Ultraviolet-activated long-lived room-temperature phosphorescence from small organic molecule-doped polymer systems. Sci. China Mater. 65, 2160–2168 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40843-021-1768-6

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