AIE-Active Polyamide Containing Diphenylamine-TPE Moiety with Superior Electrofluorochromic Performance.

Abstract

Electrofluorochromism has attracted great attention due to the intelligence optoelectronic and sensing applications. The intrinsically switchable fluorophores with high solid-state fluorescence are regarded as key for ideal electrofluorochromic materials. Here, we reported an AIE-active polyamide with diphenylamine and tetraphenylethylene units, showing high fluorescence quantum yield up to 69.1% for the solid polymer film and stable electrochemical cycling stability. The polyamide exhibited reversible color and emission switching even in hundreds of cycles, and the fluorescence on/off contrast ratio was determined up to 417, which is the highest value to our knowledge. Furthermore, as the response time is vital for the real-life applications, to speed up the response of electrofluorochromism, a porous polymer film was readily prepared through a facile method, notably exhibiting high fluorescence contrast, long-term stability and obviously improved response, due to the sharply increased surface area. Therefore, the AIE-functionalization combining the porous structure strategy will synergistically and dramatically improve the electrofluorochromic performance, which will also promote their practical applications in the near future.