Ion-Driving Polymer Entanglement for Dynamic Organic Phosphorescence

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Polymer Chemistry
• Photonic Materials

Background:

• Controlling condensed matter structures in organic phosphorescent polymers is challenging.
• External stimuli can modulate emission, but a materials-level principle for hierarchical reorganization is lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish ion-driving entanglement as a strategy for reconfigurable hierarchical structures in organic phosphorescence.
• To demonstrate tunable phosphorescence and potential applications in sensing.

Main Methods:

• Utilized potassium ions to bridge functional groups in κ-carrageenan (κCG), inducing polymer entanglement.
• Employed atomic force microscopy (AFM) and rheology to validate structural transformations.
• Investigated triplet exciton behavior and phosphorescence properties.

Main Results:

• Achieved tunable phosphorescence from blue to green (CIEy: 0.037-0.382) with long lifetimes (up to 199.50 ms) and high efficiency (17.97%).
• Demonstrated thermally reversible entanglement for on-demand emission switching.
• Developed a visual urinary potassium analyzer based on ion-concentration-dependent phosphorescence.

Conclusions:

• Polymer entanglement is a key design principle for adaptive photonic materials.
• This approach enables precise control over organic phosphorescence for advanced applications.
• The developed mechanism shows promise for smart sensing and healthcare monitoring.