Tunable-Emission Amorphous Room-Temperature Phosphorescent Polymers Based on Thermoreversible Dynamic Covalent Bonds

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Organic Chemistry
• Polymer Chemistry

Background:

• Pure organic room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) materials are crucial for advanced photoelectric, biochemical, and bioimaging applications.
• Dynamic covalent chemistry (DCC) enables the creation of intelligent materials with responsive and feedback functionalities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize novel organic RTP materials with tunable emission properties.
• To explore the application of thermally reversible dynamic covalent bonds in polymer design for RTP applications.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the Diels-Alder reaction, a [4+2] cycloaddition, to synthesize three distinct polymers.
• Incorporated thermally reversible dynamic covalent bonds into the polymer backbone for reversible transformations.
• Characterized the photophysical properties, including RTP emission, of the synthesized polymers.

Main Results:

• All synthesized polymers exhibited distinct and tunable room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) emissions.
• The poly-Br-An polymer achieved an absolute phosphorescence quantum yield of up to 12%.
• Demonstrated the successful application of reversible dynamic covalent bonds in creating RTP materials.

Conclusions:

• A novel strategy for designing and synthesizing tunable-emission organic RTP materials using dynamic covalent bonds has been established.
• The developed polymers show promise for applications in photoelectric devices, biochemical sensors, and bioimaging.
• This work highlights the potential of DCC in creating advanced functional organic materials.