Hydrogen-Bonding-Induced Clusteroluminescence and UCST-Type Thermoresponsiveness of Nonconjugated Copolymers

作者：Liu, Kang; Han, Pengbo; Yu, Shunfeng; Wu, Xinjun; Tian, Yueyi; Liu, Qianhan; Wang, Jinhui; Zhang, Mingming; Zhao, Chuanzhuang^*

来源：Macromolecules, 2022.

DOI：10.1021/acs.macromol.2c01531

• ROOM-TEMPERATURE PHOSPHORESCENCE
• POLYMERS
• BEHAVIOR
• FLUORESCENCE
• EMISSION
• WATER

Stimuli-responsive light-emitting polymers (SRLEPs) have many promising applications. However, the synthesis of SRLEPs from nonconjugated and water-soluble monomers remains a challenge. Herein, for the first time, nonconjugated luminescent polymers with an upper critical solution temperature (UCST) in aqueous solution are reported. The polymer is synthesized through copolymerization of a strong hydrogen-donating monomer, acrylic acid (AAc), and a strong hydrogen-accepting monomer, N-vinylcaprolactam (NVCL). The polymer-polymer hydrogen-bonding rigidifies the chain conformation and enhances the clustering of the heteroatoms and carbonyl groups, resulting in an improved clusteroluminescence. Meanwhile, the polymer-polymer hydrogen bonding also brings in dynamic chain association that can be switched with temperature, yielding a UCST-type thermoresponsiveness in aqueous solution. This work demonstrates a novel and facile method of designing SRLEPs through tailoring the hydrogen bonds in the polymer. The properties of clusteroluminescence and thermoresponsiveness of the AAc-NVCL copolymers may render themselves with applications as temperature-sensitive biosensing.

• 单位
  中国医学科学院; 中国医学科学院北京协和医院