A tunable fluorescence waterborne polyurethane-based Ln3+(Ln=Eu,Tb) complex with antibacterial activity

作者：Yang, Yuqing; Luo, Xiang; Yang, Mingdi; Zhang, Kehua; Xian, Yuxi^*; Wang, Ping; Ding, Yunsheng; Hu, Xianhai^*

来源：PROGRESS IN ORGANIC COATINGS, 2024, 187: 108117.

DOI：10.1016/j.porgcoat.2023.108117

• Waterborne polyurethane
• Ln3+(Ln=EuTb) complex
• Tunable fluorescence
• Antibacterial activity
• Photoluminescence

Tunable fluorescent luminescent materials have attracted much attention in many fields of application. Herein, Tb(PABA)3Phen with red fluorescence and Eu(PABA)3Phen with green fluorescence were synthesized by using paminobenzoic acid (PABA) and o-phenanthroline (Phen) as the first and second ligands and Tb3+ and Eu3+ as the central ions. Then, Ln3+ (Ln = Eu, Tb) was bonded to the polyurethane chains as chain extenders to prepare waterborne polyurethane complexes with tunable fluorescence and antibacterial activity (WPU-TbxEu1-x). The bonding of Tb(PABA)3Phen and Eu(PABA)3Phen on polyurethane chains significantly improved the compatibility of soft and rigid polyurethane segments and reduced the degree of phase separation. WPU-TbxEu1-x had good thermal stability and above 220 degrees C decomposition temperature. Notably, WPU-TbxEu1-x achieves adjustable fluorescence from red to green by adjusting Tb(PABA)3Phen and Eu(PABA)3Phen into the polyurethane chains. Compared with Tb(PABA)3Phen and Eu(PABA)3Phen, the fluorescence lifetimes of WPU-Tb1.0Eu0 and WPUTb0Eu1.0 are significantly longer, reaching 1.375 ms and 1.05 ms, respectively. WPU-Tb1.0Eu0 and WPU-Tb0EU1.0 have excellent antibacterial effects against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli and can be used as a WPUTb1.0Eu0 and WPU-Tb0Eu1.0 have fantastic antibacterial effects on S. aureus and E. coli and can be used as an environmentally friendly antibacterial material with broad application prospects. More importantly, WPUTbxEu1-x uses water as a dispersed phase, which is particularly safe and environmentally friendly.