Fabrication of nano-objects with morphology-correlated room-temperature phosphorescence and their application in information encryption

Room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) polymers have attracted much attention due to their advantages, such as easy processing, low cost, and good biocompatibility. Herein, we present a new strategy for the design of polymer nanoparticles with tunable RTP emission via polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA). ((2-Bromo-5-formyl-1,4-phenylene)bis(oxy))bis(ethane-2,1-diyl) bis(2-methylacrylate) was synthesized and used as a cross-linker (CL) in the RAFT dispersion polymerization of benzyl methacrylate (BzMA) using 4-cyano-4-(2-phenylethanesulfanyl-thiocarbonyl)sulfanylpentanoic acid capped poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO-PETTC) as a macromolecular chain transfer agent (macroCTA), to afford core-cross-linked PEO-b-P(BzMA-co-CL) nano-objects with different morphologies. It was found that the polymer nanoparticles showed room temperature phosphorescence and the intensity enhanced following the order of morphological evolutions: micelles < nanowires < vesicles. Furthermore, the polymer nano-objects could be used for information encryption based on their oxygen-sensitive phosphorescence. This work provides a new platform for regulating the emission of polymer-based room-temperature phosphorescence materials, and provides an efficient approach toward information encryption materials with fast response and ease of operation.

Automated summary

In this study, polymer nanoparticles with tunable room-temperature phosphorescence emission were successfully designed using polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA). The morphology evolution of the nanoparticles was found to affect the phosphorescence intensity, and these nanoparticles could be used for information encryption.