Preparation and Properties of Electrospun Sheath-core Modified-PMMA Nanofibers with Photoluminescence and Photochromic Functions

M ulti-functional nanofibers are playing an important role in the optical field, and are widely used in fluorescence indication, product anti-counterfeit identification and smart clothing. Nanofibers with photoluminescence and photochromic functions are already attracting more interest from researchers. In this work, based on electrospun technology, the modified-PMMA nanofibers[PMMA=poly(methyl methacrylate)] with photoluminescence and photochromic functions were prepared through the design of the sheath-core structure(SCNFs 1–4). Compared with other samples, SCNF-4 shows outstanding photoluminescence and photochromic functions. SCNF-4 can produce green light and its fluorescence intensity and fluorescence lifetime can reach 7144 a.u. and 1031.32 µs, respectively. In photochromic functions, SCNF-4 can show purple in 1 min under the 365 nm ultraviolet light, and the color can be preserved for more than 4 h under the sunlight. When SCNF-4 is irradiated by far infrared light, the color of the samples can fade quickly in 40 s. Under the irradiation of ultraviolet light of different wavelengths, SCNF-4 can display multi-color fluorescence and achieve a reversible transition between white and purple. The design of the sheath-core structure realizes the complementarity of photoluminescence and photochromic functions of the electrospun modified-PMMA nanofibers, which is important to promote the wide application of multi-functional nanofibers in the optical field.