“Colorless-to-black” electrochromic and AIE-active polyamides: An effective strategy for the highest-contrast electrofluorochromism

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Ningwei Sun - , Chair of Organic Devices (cfaed), Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden, Jilin University (Author)
  • Kaixin Su - , Jilin University (Author)
  • Ziwei Zhou - , Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden (Author)
  • Daming Wang - , Jilin University (Author)
  • Andreas Fery - , Chair of Physical Chemistry of Polymeric Materials, Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden (Author)
  • Franziska Lissel - , Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden (Author)
  • Xiaogang Zhao - , Jilin University (Author)
  • Chunhai Chen - , Jilin University (Author)

Abstract

Electrofluorochromic (EFC) materials have gained extensive attention owing to their interesting modulations of fluorescence by an electric stimulus. However, the limited performances, especially the low fluorescence on/off contrast, significantly hampered their further applications. Herein, we design a new strategy to achieve high-contrast electrofluorochromism by combinations of “colorless-to-black” electrochromism and highly fluorescent AIE activity. Given the effective fluorescence quenching effect and high solid-state fluorescence, a fluorescence contrast of 838 is realized, to the best of our knowledge, the highest reported so far. Furthermore, to explore the structure-property relationships, we also separated the E/Z isomers of tetraphenylethylene (TPE) and studied the properties of the three electroactive/fluorescent polymers (11TPE-PA, E-12TPE-PA, and Z-12TPE-PA) derived from different TPE derivatives and isomers. The three branches of polymers all exhibited AIE-active and “colorless-to-black” electrochromic (EC) properties. In addition to the ultrahigh fluorescence contrast, Z-12TPE-PA also integrated high electrochromic contrast (Δ% T = 92%), short response time (0.6 s/0.3 s), and excellent switching stability (300 cycles), paving the way for the applications in various electronic applications. The study will provide novel insights into the future design and development of high-performance EC/EFC materials.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)10117-10127
Number of pages11
JournalMacromolecules
Volume53
Issue number22
Publication statusPublished - 24 Nov 2020
Peer-reviewedYes