On-demand modulating afterglow color of water-soluble polymers through phosphorescence FRET for multicolor security printing

Developing full-color organic ultralong room temperature phosphorescence (OURTP) materials with continuously variable afterglow emission is of considerable practical importance in diverse optoelectronic applications but remains a formidable challenge. Here, we present an effective strategy for on-demand engineering of afterglow color in water-soluble polymeric systems via efficient phosphorescence Forster resonance energy transfer. Using a blue afterglow emitting water-soluble polymer as host and a series of fluorescent emitters with varied emissive colors as guests, afterglow emission is rationally modulated, conferring the full-color afterglow emission ranging from blue to red and even white with ultralong lifetimes up to 4.2 s and photoluminescence quantum yields of 36%.These water-soluble multicolor-emitting polymeric afterglow systems can function as OURTP security inks, and multilevel information encryption was successfully established by RGB-based multicolor security printing. These results present important guidance in developing high-performance afterglow polymers with on-demand color tuning ability for remarkable optoelectronic applications.

Automated summary

We have successfully modulated the afterglow emission color in water-soluble polymer systems through phosphorescence Forster resonance energy transfer (FRET) technique, achieving full-color afterglow emission from blue to red and even white. This study provides important guidance in developing high-performance afterglow polymers with on-demand color tuning ability for optoelectronic applications.