Facile growth and re-crystallization of polymer-based inorganic-organic 2D hybrid composites and their applications

Abstract

The in-situ growth and recrystallization of inorganic-organic (IO) hybrids within the natural free volume of polymer matrices for the realization of significantly stable IO hybrid-polymer composites and its applications have been presented. A general strategy is explored to attain uniform and facile growth of IO hybrid nanocrystals (2–3 nm) within the interstitial spaces of polymer matrix. Annealing further supports the agglomeration and self-assembly of nanocrystals into highly c-oriented hexagonal microplatelets of ∼10–20 μm2 and 50–100 nm thickness within the polymer matrix. The resultant composites endow highly luminescent retaining the typical thermally and mechanically stable polymeric nature. Series of optical, structural, morphological and thermal studies are performed to understand the growth conditions and uniform distribution of IO nanocrystallites within the polymer. To exemplify, LED colour conversion using encapsulation/surface coating and polymeric blocks fabrication for optical waveguide/channel inscription are demonstrated to foresee many new flexible and robust applications. Thus, the present approach offers a new paradigm to achieve light-emitting IO hybrids in the form of polymeric composites for advanced optoelectronic device applications.