Color-tunable luminescent hydrogels with tough mechanical strength and self-healing ability

Luminescent hydrogels are of immense importance for various applications nowadays, but there is still a significant challenge to achieve excellent optical functional hydrogels combining robust mechanical properties and high self-healing efficiency under mild conditions. Herein, we describe the preparation of a series of color-tunable and robust luminescent hydrogels through the electrostatic interactions between positively-charged luminescent micelles and negatively-charged clay nanosheets. The further addition of poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) results in an obvious enhancement in the mechanical strength of the hydrogels via physical cross-linking, leading to a more stable luminescent hydrogel with fast self-healing performance. The obtained luminescent hydrogels can also retain their shape persistence even when immersed in organic solvents, affording novel luminescent organogels with outstanding optical performance.