Coaxial electrospinning for flexible uniform white-light-emitting porous fibrous membrane

Abstract

In this study, a white-light-emitting porous fibrous membrane was fabricated by a coaxial electrospinning method, which used a blue fluorescent organic dye as the energy-donor and a specifically designed orange fluorescent dye as the energy-acceptor. The advantage of the coaxial structure is that the spatial separation of the two dyes can be easily accomplished, which can effectively impede the energy transfer (ET) of the two dyes and result in the emission of uniform white light by every microscopically sized individual fiber. In particular, polylactide (PLA) was used as the electrospun matrix due to its satisfactory pore-forming performance under humid conditions, and the porous structure reduced the blocking effect of the polymer matrix on the fluorescent dyes and efficiently realized white-light emission. The white-light-emitting porous fibrous membrane has a unique structure, which gives it special properties such as flexibility and durability. There is great potential for this membrane to be used for next-generation lighting or display applications because of its superior performance.