Thermally controlled dual-mode display media with red-green-blue coloration and fluorescence via energy transfer between emission materials and leuco dyes

Multifunctional materials such as those with thermo-switchable absorption or emission are widely applied to thermal recording media. We combined red-green-blue (RGB) thermochromic materials and luminescent materials in order to construct novel dual-mode display media that can control both coloration and emission. The composite films showed thermo-responsive control of RGB coloration with high reversibility through structural changes of nanoscale aggregates of the leuco dye and its developer. Moreover, RGB photoluminescence was also controlled by specific thermal treatment via intermolecular energy transfer from luminescent materials in the excited state to the colored leuco dyes.