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Carbon Dots Intensified Mechanochemiluminescence from Waterborne Polyurethanes as Tunable Force Sensing Materials

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Abstract

1,2-Dioxetane is a well-known chemiluminescent mechanophore allowing real-time monitoring of polymer chain scission, but usually suffers from fluorescence quenching in polar environments. Herein, a series of mechanochemiluminescent waterborne polyurethanes/carbon dots composites (WPU-CDs) have been synthesized by incorporating fluorescent CDs to promote the energy transfer process in different environments. The resulting bulk WPUs, and in particular, their swollen films filled with a large amount of polar solvents (water and ionic liquid) emit intense mechanochemiluminescence. Thus force-induced covalent bond scission and stress distribution within these different WPU-CDs films can be sensitively visualized. Furthermore, the ionic liquid containing films exhibited both electrical and luminescent signal changes under stretching, which offer a new kind of force sensor responsive at a broad detecting strain range and for multi-mode strain analysis. This study is expected to stimulate new research endeavors in mechanistic insight on waterborne polyurethanes and the corresponding stretchable sensing devices.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 21905200, 21975178 and 21734006), and China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (No. 2019M661006).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Optoelectronic Science, Department of Chemistry, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300354, China

    Bo-Han Cao, Wu Chen, Wan-Yuan Wei, Yu-Lan Chen & Yuan Yuan

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  1. Bo-Han Cao
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  2. Wu Chen
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  3. Wan-Yuan Wei
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  4. Yu-Lan Chen
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  5. Yuan Yuan
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Correspondence to Yu-Lan Chen or Yuan Yuan.

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Cao, BH., Chen, W., Wei, WY. et al. Carbon Dots Intensified Mechanochemiluminescence from Waterborne Polyurethanes as Tunable Force Sensing Materials. Chin J Polym Sci 39, 1403–1411 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-021-2601-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-021-2601-4

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