Versatile room temperature phosphorescence polymer with luminophore content as low as 0.05 wt%

To impart processability and practical serviceability to organic room temperature phosphorescence (RTP) molecules, and address phase separation and rigid confinement environment of conventional RTP polymers, a small amount of Schiff base bonds crosslinked tetraphenylene luminescence networks are pinned to the borate ester bonds crosslinked epoxy networks producing reversible interlocked polymer networks-based halogen-free RTP material. By taking advantage of the conjugation interaction of Schiff base linkages, and phase separation inhibition/molecular confinement effects of the interlocking networks, excellent fluorescence quantum yield (up to 78.9 %), RTP lifetime (660 ms) and quantum yield (16.7 %) are achieved with ultra-low concentration of luminophores (0.05 wt%). Moreover, the resultant acquires decent tensile strength (3.8 MPa) and a high elongation-at-break (365 %) owing to its unique molecular design. The phosphorescence lifetimes (457 ∼ 602 ms) are only slightly affected even after cyclic stretching (at 50 % strain for 100 cycles), or soaking in water (for 30 days), or heating (90 °C). The built-in reversible covalent bonds and the topological network reorganization further enable injection molding and self-healing of the material. Having been repeatedly crushed/hot-pressed, the recycled material still shows RTP lifetime and quantum yield of 398 ms and 14.6 %, respectively. The present work provides a feasible approach to fabricate multifunctional robust organic phosphorescent materials with application prospects.