Electron beam-induced preparation of AIE non-woven fabric with excellent fluorescence durability

Abstract

Polymers with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics have attracted much attention because of their potential applications in luminescent self-assembling, anti-counterfeiting, decoration, and photoelectric devices. To date, most technologies to prepare fluorescent polymers lack versatility; moreover, the resultant material exhibits intrinsic defects of poor fluorescence intensity and durability. Herein, we covalently anchored units of tetraphenylethylene (TPE), an archetypal AIE luminogen, on the surface of conventional polymer fibers such as polyethylene/polypropylene nonwoven fabric (PE/PP NWF) via radiation-induced graft polymerization (RIGP) and subsequent chemical modification for the first time. The physicochemical properties of the original and modified fabrics were characterized in detail by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The results indicated that the TPE units were covalently and uniformly anchored on the surface of PE/PP NWF with a disordered architecture and that the as-prepared fluorescent fabric had a high thermal stability. Additionally, the fluorescent properties of the as-prepared fluorescent fabric were measured. It emitted a strong green emission and showed superior fluorescence durability after 20 cycles of accelerated laundering or in 12 M concentrated HCl and NaOH solutions.