Fluorescence enhancement induced by sulfuric acid intercalation on melem-based polymer

Abstract

Fluorescent materials have achieved a great success in the fields of biomedicine, photonic devices, light-emitting diodes and others; however, millions of fluorescent materials lose their emission properties owing to aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ) effect, especially in solid state. Herein, we report the enhanced fluorescence of Melem-based polymer film via sulfuric acid modification. We propose a new strategy for maintaining fluorescence in the aggregated state by sulfuric acid intercalation, which separate the fluorophores and avoid the self-quenching. The Melem-based polymer is synthesized through a simple liquid phase reaction, and exhibits excellent fluorescence in the aggregated state after treatment with concentrated acid. This anion intercalation represents a general strategy to avert ACQ effect for existing intrinsic fluorescent materials.