Blue-emitting thermoreversible oligourethane gelators with aggregation-induced emission properties

Jiang, Nan; Zhu, Dongxia; Su, Zhongmin; Bryce, Martin R.

Abstract

Blue-emitting gels are scarce, especially oligomeric/polymeric systems. Here, a series of 4,4′-sulfonyldiphenol (SDP) based oligourethane derivatives (OUs), namely OUHDI, OUHMDI and OUTDI based on 1,6-hexamethylene diisocyanate, 4,4′-methylenebis(cyclohexyl isocyanate) and 2,4-diisocyanatotoluene, respectively, were rationally designed and obtained by simple procedures. The new oligomers all display aggregation-induced blue fluorescence and upon gelation they achieve enhanced bright deep-blue emission as a result of interchain hydrogen bonding and oxygen cluster interactions. The OUs show spontaneous thermoreversible gelation in solvents which possess hydrogen-bond receptor units (C[double bond, length as m-dash]O or S[double bond, length as m-dash]O) which facilitate self-assembly of the OU chains into nanotubes. The oligourethane gels (OUGs) possess excellent ability for resisting external stress while at the same time exhibiting a distinct viscous flow state. The results illustrate that heteroatomic non-conjugated oligomers with advantageous hydrogen bonding interactions and oxygen clusters provide an efficient route to photoluminescent blue-emitting gels. The thermoreversible OUGs with excellent mechanical properties have been exploited to make sticky coatings, transparent films and a blue fluorescent molded shape using simple fabrication processes.

Citation

Jiang, N., Zhu, D., Su, Z., & Bryce, M. R. (2020). Blue-emitting thermoreversible oligourethane gelators with aggregation-induced emission properties. Journal of Materials Chemistry C Materials for optical and electronic devices, 8(15), 5137-5142. https://doi.org/10.1039/d0tc00757a

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 11, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Mar 20, 2020
• Publication Date: Apr 21, 2020
• Deposit Date: Mar 18, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 11, 2021
• Journal: Journal of Materials Chemistry C Materials for optical and electronic devices
• Print ISSN: 2050-7526
• Electronic ISSN: 2050-7534
• Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 8
• Issue: 15
• Pages: 5137-5142
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/d0tc00757a
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1274989