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Long-lived organic room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) has sparked intense explorations, owing to the outstanding optical performance and exceptional applications. Because triplet excitons in organic RTP experience multifarious relaxation processes resulting from their high sensitivity, spin multiplicity, inevitable nonradiative decay, and external quenchers, boosting RTP performance by the modulated triplet-exciton behavior is challenging. Herein, we report that cross-linked polyphosphazene nanospheres can effectively promote long-lived organic RTP. Through molecular engineering, multiple carbonyl groups (C═O), heteroatoms (N and P), and heavy atoms (Cl) are introduced into the polyphosphazene nanospheres, largely strengthening the spin-orbit coupling constant by recalibrating the electronic configurations between singlet (Sn) and triplet (Tn) excitons. In order to further suppress nonradiative decay and avoid quenching under ambient conditions, polyphosphazene nanospheres are encapsulated with poly(vinyl alcohol) matrix, thus synchronously prompting phosphorescence lifetime (173 ms longer), phosphorescence efficiency (∼12-fold higher), afterglow duration time (more than 20 s), and afterglow absolute luminance (∼19-fold higher) as compared with the 2,3,6,7,10,11-hexahydroxytriphenylene precursor. By measuring the emission intensity of the phosphorescence, an effective probe based on the nanospheres is developed for visible, quantitative, and expeditious detection of volatile organic compounds. More significantly, the obtained films show high selectivity and robustness for anisole detection (7.1 × 10-4 mol L-1). This work not only demonstrates a way toward boosting the efficiency of RTP materials but also provides a new avenue to apply RTP materials in feasible detection applications. Ministry of Education (MOE) This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21875025), the Innovation Research Group at Institutions of Higher Education in Chongqing (CXQT19027), the Chongqing Talent Program, the Science and Technology Project of Banan District, the Innovation Support Plan for the Returned Overseas of Chongqing (cx2020052), and the Open Fund of Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Luminescence from Molecular Aggregates (2021-kllma-03). The research was also supported by the Singapore Ministry of Education Academic Research Funds (RG3/21 and MOET2EP10120-0003).

Room temperature phosphorescence (RTP) has drawn extensive attention in recent years. Efficient stimulus-responsive phosphorescent organic materials are attractive, but are extremely rare because of unclear design principles and intrinsically spin-forbidden intersystem crossing. Herein, we present a feasible and facile strategy to achieve ultraviolet irradiation-responsive ultralong RTP (IRRTP) of some simple organic phosphors by doping into amorphous poly(vinyl alcohol) matrix. In addition to the observed green and yellow afterglow emission with distinct irradiation-enhanced phosphorescence, the phosphorescence lifetime can be tuned by varying the irradiation period of 254 nm light. Significantly, the dynamic phosphorescence lifetime could be increased 14.3 folds from 58.03 ms to 828.81 ms in one of the obtained hybrid films after irradiation for 45 min under ambient conditions. As such, the application in polychromatic screen printing and multilevel information encryption is demonstrated. The extraordinary IRRTP in the amorphous state endows these systems with a highly promising potential for smart flexible luminescent materials and sensors with dynamically controlled phosphorescence., Efficient stimulus-responsive phosphorescence organic materials are attractive, but are extremely rare because of unclear design principles and intrinsically spin-forbidden intersystem crossing. Here, the authors present a facile strategy to achieve ultraviolet irradiation-responsive ultralong room-temperature phosphorescence in several simple amorphous polymer materials.

Materials exhibiting ultralong luminescent lifetime show promising applications in the fields of information encryption, sensing, and bioimaging. Herein, we present a low-cost and general strategy to achieve stimulus-responsive ultralong organic phosphorescence (UOP) based on pyrene chromophores doped into polymer matrices. The UOP of the resulted systems presents radiation-, concentration-, time-, and excitation-dependent characteristics. The UOP color can be turned from blue to red by changing the excitation wavelength or the concentration of chromophores. Experimental results prove that these characteristics are attributed to the consumption of triplet oxygen and the different aggregation states of chromophores in the polymer matrices. Finally, we demonstrate that these systems could be applied for multilevel information encryption. This work would promote further development of multi-responsive long-lived luminescent materials. This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21875025), the Innovation Research Group at Institutions of Higher Education in Chongqing (CXQT19027), the Chongqing Talent Program, the Science and Technology Project of Banan District, the Innovation Support Plan for the Returned Overseas of Chongqing (cx2020052), and the Open Fund of Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Luminescence from Molecular Aggregates (2021-kllma-03).

Fully biodegradable and environmentally-friendly luminescent films were fabricated by doping the long-persistent luminescence inorganic phosphors containing europium ions into poly(3-hydrox...

Microstructures and bonding strength between the treated aluminum alloy and modified polypropylene (PP) were systemically investigated in this study. The results show that an increase in the surface energy of PP by grafting maleic anhydride(MAH) will result in better wetting of the resin on the aluminum alloy layer. The porous microstructures were produced by polishing and anodizing. The interfacial bonding strength of specimens was increased rapidly after anodizing, and the maximum tensile shear strength and work of fracture of P/P-AlP specimen reach up to 10.05 MPa and 14.82 KJ/m2, respectively. The great increase in bonding strength was attributed to porous microstructures and large roughness on the aluminum alloy surface which resulted in resin melt flew into nano holes to from micro mechanical interlocking.

Nanolaminated materials are important because of their exceptional properties and wide range of applications. Here, we demonstrate a general approach to synthesize a series of Zn-based MAX phases and Cl-terminated MXenes originating from the replacement reaction between the MAX phase and the late transition metal halides. The approach is a top-down route that enables the late transitional element atom (Zn in the present case) to occupy the A site in the pre-existing MAX phase structure. Using this replacement reaction between Zn element from molten ZnCl2 and Al element in MAX phase precursors (Ti3AlC2, Ti2AlC, Ti2AlN, and V2AlC), novel MAX phases Ti3ZnC2, Ti2ZnC, Ti2ZnN, and V2ZnC were synthesized. When employing excess ZnCl2, Cl terminated MXenes (such as Ti3C2Cl2 and Ti2CCl2) were derived by a subsequent exfoliation of Ti3ZnC2 and Ti2ZnC due to the strong Lewis acidity of molten ZnCl2. These results indicate that A-site element replacement in traditional MAX phases by late transition metal halides opens the door to explore MAX phases that are not thermodynamically stable at high temperature and would be difficult to synthesize through the commonly employed powder metallurgy approach. In addition, this is the first time that exclusively Cl-terminated MXenes were obtained, and the etching effect of Lewis acid in molten salts provides a green and viable route to prepare MXenes through an HF-free chemical approach., Title changed; experimental section and discussion revised

With application of micro-nano pressing technology (MNPT) polyamide 6 (PA6) and 304 stainless steel were integrally molded, and the mechanical properties and structure on the interface of plastic and metal were investigated in the study. The micro structures on the stainless steel specimen surface were achieved by physical and/or chemical surface treatment techniques including polishing and etching methods, respectively. The tensile shear strength and work of fracture for the integrally molded specimen were influenced greatly by the surface treatment on stainless steel. The maximal tensile shear strength and the fracture work for the MNPT molded sample reached up to ca. 11 MPa and 17 KJ/m2, respectively. In addition, the interface fractography of the MNPT molded specimen was characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM). These results indicated PA6 melt flew into the micro and/or nano holes on the chemical etched metal surface during hot press molding to for...

Due to the promising application of sodium ion batteries (SIBs) in stationary energy storage, great effort has been devoted to the development of anode materials, such as capacitance-type MXenes, battery-type metal sulfides/selenides and red phosphorus. However, these materials severely suffer from either low rate capability or insufficient lifespans. Toward this end, a dual-mode sodium storage concept is proposed based on the simultaneous incorporation of capacitance-type and battery-type electrochemical behavior. Correspondingly, a novel strategy of in situ formation of NaTi2(PO4)3 cubes on Ti3C2 MXene nanosheets in a liquid transformation way was developed to fabricate a dual-mode anode material (denoted as MXene@NTP-C). Acting as the anode material for SIBs, MXene@NTP-C shows outstanding rate capacities (49% capacity retention at 10 A g−1) and remarkable cycling performance (remaining stable after 10 000 cycles at 5 A g−1). Electrochemical and kinetic analyses reveal that this excellent performance was attributed to the dual-mode accommodation (46–71% capacitive contribution at 0.1–1 mV s−1) of sodium onto pseudocapacitance-type MXene and into battery-type NaTi2(PO4)3. The dual-mode sodium storage concept proposed here provides an opportunity to tackle the trade-off between energy and power densities.

A novel family of Ti3C2Tx/ferrite composites with high reflection loss was developed using a facile in situ co-precipitation method. The as-synthesized Ti3C2Tx/ferrite composite with a 5 wt% Ti3C2Tx MXenes loading exhibited high reflection loss (−42.5 dB) at 13.5 GHz. The effective absorption bandwidth of the 5 wt% Ti3C2Tx/Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 composite reached ∼3 GHz (12–15 GHz) in the K-band. The incorporation of Ti3C2Tx MXenes improved the electromagnetic impedance of the Ti3C2Tx/Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 composite resulting from the enhanced electrical conductivity. The potential electromagnetic wave absorption mechanisms were revealed, which may contain magnetic loss, dielectric loss, conductivity loss, multiple reflections, and scattering. The technique is facile, fast, scalable, and favorable for the commercialization of this composite. This study provides a potential way to develop EM wave absorbing materials for a large family of MXenes/ferrite composites.

The phase behaviors of bitumen modified by SBS with different S/B block proportion were investigated by microscopy and rheology. It was found that even when the SBS additions into bitumen were the same, phase separation structure and rheological properties still exhibited a large difference due to the different S/B proportion, which resulted in a different ability of the absorption for light components from bitumen.

Developing novel multinuclear organic visible-light-excited europium complex is highly challenging. Herein, novel visible light excitation hexanuclear Eu3+ complex (Eu6(TTA)18CTP-TPY) and Eu3+ complex/polylactic acid (PLA) luminescent films have been successfully designed and prepared. Through proper molecular engineering, the hexanuclear Eu3+ complex, Eu3+ complex/PLA luminescent films both can be successfully excited by visible light. Similarly, it was interesting that the LEDs assembled with Eu6(TTA)18CTP-TPY/PLA can also achieve excellent photoluminescence under 400 nm excitation wavelength, the luminous efficiency can reach as high as 333.33 lm/W, and the 10%-Eu3+ complex/PLA LED kept superior photothermal stability within 50 °C. What's most surprising was that the Eu6(TTA)18CTP-TPY/PLA luminescent films showed prompt and effective recognition for glacial acetic acid and acrylic acid. This work presents a promising strategy to explore molecular engineering platforms for effectively fluorescence sensing and red LED device applications.

A series of environment friendly Eu/PHB fluorescent films through doped the Eu-complex precursor Eu(TTA) 2 (Tpy-OCH 3 )(2H 2 O) into polymer matrices poly-β-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) with doping percentage at 1, 3, 5, and 7 (mass) were designed, fabricated and characterized. TGA and PL results indicated the Eu-complex precursor was immobilized in PHB matrix through the interaction between the Eu-complex. DSC results indicated the crystallinity of Eu/PHB films decreased with the increase of Eu-complex doping percentage. The emission spectra of the Eu-complex and Eu/PHB films recorded at room temperature exhibited the characteristic bands arising from the 5 D 0 / 7 F J . The fact that the quantum efficiencies ( η ) of the doped film increased significantly revealed that the PHB matrix acts as an efficient co-sensitizer for Eu 3+ ions luminescent center and therefore enhances the quantum efficiency of the emitter 5 D 0 level. In particular, all Eu/PHB films can be excited by visible light (410 nm), and also showed good photoluminescent properties. So the new Eu/PHB fluorescent films showed considerable promise for polymer light-emitting diode, active polymer optical fiber and biomedical analysis applications.

In this study, carbon fibers (CFs) and carbon nanofibers (CNFs) were introduced into polyethylene (PE) and intensive shear flow was imposed on the melt during the melt second flow caused by gas penetrating the melt during the gas-assisted injection molding (GAIM). The effect of fiber diameter on crystalline morphologies of obtained composites was deeply studied. The results revealed the fact that no matter whether CFs or CNFs were introduced into the PE matrix or not, the orientation degree of PE lamellae would increase during the melt second flow. Hybrid shish-kebab structures were difficult to be formed in GAIM CF/PE composites and only a few oriented PE lamellae overgrew on the local surface of CFs. However for GAIM CNF/PE composites, the formation of hybrid shish-kebab structures was clearly observed in the entire thickness. The structural diversity was mainly ascribed to the difference of CF diameter, showing obvious size-dependent effect.

Developing novel lanthanide metal-organic frameworks (Ln-MOFs) to rapidly and reliably differentiate both metal ions in solution and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in vapor is highly challenging. Here, we describe versatile Eu3+/Tb3+-MOFs based on a flexible ligand. It is noteworthy that the film fabricated using bimetallic Eu0.47Tb0.63-MOF and polyvinyl alcohol could serve as an easy and convenient luminescent platform for distinguishing different metal ions and VOCs. The luminescent film exhibits notable fingerprint correlation between the metal ions/VOCs and the emission intensity ratio of Eu3+/Tb3+ ions in Ln-MOFs. As a result, the bimetallic Ln-MOFs show fast recognition of Fe3+ ion with a response time of

A liquid crystal polymer (LCP) was used to improve the physical properties of glass fiber reinforced polypropylene (GFRPP). The LCP was beneficial to improve the mechanical and heat resistant properties of the GFRPP/LCP composite. Compared with the GFRPP with 30% (w%) glass fiber (GF), the yield strength and the impact strength for the GFRPP/LCP composites increased by 62.7% and 18.1%, respectively, with a 6.8°C increase in the Vicat softening temperature for a 5% LCP addition to the GFRPP composites. The crystallinity of the polypropylene (PP) matrix for the GFRPP/LCP composites increased for 5% LCP and then decreased with increasing the LCP content. The γ-phase crystals for the PP matrix occurred in the shear layer of the injection molded GFRPP/LCP samples. The improved adhesion interface between the GF and the PP matrix was beneficial to reinforce and toughen the GFRPP/LCP composites with a small addition of the LCP.

A pulse pressure was imposed on the melt in the injection molding cavity during the injection and holding pressure stages, called vibration-assisted injection molding (VAIM) technology. With the VAIM technology, biaxially self-reinforced high-density polyethylene (HDPE) samples were prepared and the physical properties affected by the vibration processing conditions were studied. The tensile properties can be improved in both the machine direction (MD) and the transverse direction (TD) by changing the vibration frequency and vibration pressure amplitude, respectively. The elongation at break increased with increasing the vibration frequency for the VAIM sample processed at constant low vibration pressure amplitude; the yield strength increased with increasing the vibration pressure amplitude for the VAIM sample prepared at constant low vibration frequency. The softening point temperature for the VAIM sample increased by 8°C compared with a conventional injection-molded (CIM) sample.

With increasing temperature, a transition from fracture phase separation (FPS) to viscoelastic phase separation (VPS) was found in dynamically asymmetric PS/PVME blends with LCST behavior. Typical morphology formed via VPS disappeared under large quench depths, indicating some other specification might control the morphological evolution during VPS besides the dynamic asymmetry.

In order to develop high-performance dielectric materials, poly(arylene ether nitrile)-based composites were fabricated by employing surface-hydroxylated calcium copper titanate (CCTO) particles. The results indicated that the surface hydroxylation of CCTO effectively improved the interfacial compatibility between inorganic fillers and the polymer matrix. The composites exhibit not only high glass transition temperatures and an excellent thermal stability, but also excellent flexibility and good mechanical properties, with a tensile strength over 60 MPa. Furthermore, the composites possess enhanced permittivity, relatively low loss tangent, good permittivity-frequency stability and dielectric-temperature stability under 160 &deg, C. Therefore, it furnishes an effective path to acquire high-temperature-resistant dielectric materials for various engineering applications.

Melt blended polyamide (PA)/liquid crystal polymer (LCP) blends were prepared and their structures and properties were studied. The tensile strength and impact strength of the PA/LCP blends increased with increasing small amount of LCP content. Compared with a pure PA sample, there was a 17.7% increase in the tensile strength and a 45.5% increase in the impact strength when the LCP content was less than 10%. On the other hand, the Vicat softening temperature decreased with increasing the LCP content. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) showed that small addition of LCP was beneficial to increase the crystallinity of PA component for PA/LCP blends and the melting peak for the PA component of PA/LCP blends shifted to lower temperature with increasing LCP content. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) displayed a layered structure existing in the injection moldings of PA/LCP blends with the LCP crystals having a preferred orientation along the melt flow direction in the sub-skin, shearing layer, and core re...

Using a low-frequency, vibration-assisted injection molding (VAIM) device, the effects of vibration variables (frequency and amplitude) on mechanical properties and thermal softening temperature of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) injection moldings were investigated. For VAIM-processed samples, the mechanical properties can be improved by changing vibration frequency and vibration pressure amplitude. Injected at a constant vibration pressure amplitude, a low range of frequency (below 0.7 Hz) was favorable for increasing yield strength; in the high range of frequency (0.7 Hz < f < 2.33 Hz) the yield strength remained at a plateau. Injected at a constant frequency (0.7 Hz) the yield strength increased sharply with decreased elongation when applying large vibration pressure amplitude. The maximal yield strength and Young's modulus were 60.6 MPa and 2.1 GPa for a VAIM sample compared with 39.8 MPa and 1.0 GPa for a conventional injection-molded (CIM) sample, respectively; there was also a 10°C increase in Vi...

Vibration extrusion (VE) is achieved by superimposing a mechanical vibration on the flowing melt during extrusion. The effect of melt vibration on the melt flow behavior of polystyrene (PS) was studied. The melt flow behavior during conventional extrusion (CE) was studied for comparison. With the application of the melt vibration technology, the melt flow behavior of PS was greatly improved. The melt viscosity during the VE strongly depends on the vibration frequency and vibration amplitude. Extruded at constant vibration amplitude, the melt viscosity decreases sharply with increasing vibration frequency and also does so for increasing vibration amplitude when extruded at a constant vibration frequency. The improved melt flow property is explained in terms of shear-thinning criteria. The effect of melt vibration on the melt flow behavior is also related to the melt temperature and extrusion pressure; the greatest decease in viscosity is obtained at low temperature and low extrusion pressure.

The effect of melt vibration on the crystal form of isotactic Polypropylene (iPP) samples prepared by low-frequency Vibration-Assisted Injection Molding (VAIM) was investigated. The distribution of crystal forms through the thickness was investigated under different VAIM processing conditions, with Conventional Injection Molding (CIM) for comparison. Wide-Angle X-ray Diffraction (WAXD) showed that the content of β -form crystals decreases from the surface to the core region in the CIM and VAIM samples. The β -form distribution through the thickness is controlled by the VAIM processing conditions. The occurrence of γ -form crystals was found in the VAIM samples produced at relatively low vibration frequency and relatively large pressure vibration amplitude.

A pulse pressure was superimposed on the melt flow resulting in melt vibration. With application of the melt vibration technology, the melt flow behavior and mechanical properties of high‐density polyethylene were studied. For vibration‐assisted extrusion (VAE) at constant vibration pressure amplitude, the viscosity decreases sharply with increasing vibration frequency, and also does so when increasing vibration pressure amplitude for VAE at constant vibration frequency. The effect of vibration field on melt rheological behavior is also related to the melt temperature; a large decease in viscosity is obtained at low melt temperature. Compared with the mechanical properties obtained by conventional injection molding (CIM), the mechanical properties for vibration‐assisted injection molding (VAIM) samples were improved by changing the vibration frequency and vibration pressure amplitude. Injected at constant low vibration pressure amplitude, the VAIM sample prepared at high vibration frequency shows large el...

The effect of extrusion temperature on the mechanical properties of high‐density polyethylene (HDPE) was examined using solid‐state extrusion (SSE) and melt‐state extrusion (MSE) techniques. Differ...

The effect of melt vibration on the mechanical properties of polypropylene prepared by low-frequency vibration-assisted injection molding (VAIM) has been investigated. With the application of melt vibration technology, the mechanical properties of polypropylene are improved. The yield strength increases with the increment of the vibration frequency, and a peak stands at a special frequency for VAIM; the elongation at break decreases first and then increases with increasing vibration frequency, and a valley stands at a special frequency. The tensile properties increase sharply at an enlarged vibration pressure amplitude with sharply decreased elongation at break. The Young's modulus and impact strength also increase with the vibration frequency and pressure vibration amplitude. When it is prepared at 59.4 MPa and 0.7 Hz, the maximal yield strength is approximately 40 MPa versus 33.7 MPa for a conventional sample; an 18.7% increase in the tensile strength is produced. Self-reinforcing and self-toughening polypropylene molded parts have been found to be prepared at a high vibration frequency or at a large pressure vibration amplitude. Scanning electron micrographs have shown that, in the vibration field, the enhancement of the mechanical properties is attributable to more pronounced spherulite orientation and increased crystallinity in comparison with conventional injection moldings. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008

A self‐made melt vibration extrusion device was used to study the melt flow behavior in a vibration field. A pulse pressure was superimposed on the flowing melt during extrusion, called vibration assisted extrusion (VAE); conventional extrusion (CE) was studied for comparison. A die (L/D=17.5) was attached to the device to study melt flow behavior of an amorphous polymer (polystyrene) and semi‐crystalline polymers (high density and linear low polyethylene). Results show that the melt vibration technique is an effective processing tool to improve polymer melt flow behavior for both crystalline and amorphous polymers. Increasing with vibration frequency for extrusion at constant vibration pressure amplitude, the viscosity decreases sharply, and also with increasing vibration pressure amplitude at a constant vibration frequency. The effect of vibration field on melt flow behavior depends greatly on the melt temperature, with the largest change in viscosity obtained at low temperature. Increasing with vibrati...

The effect of vibration frequency on the mechanical properties of general grade polypropylene (PP) prepared by two types of vibration injection molding (VIM) was investigated. With the application of vibration injection molding, the mechanical properties of isotactic PP are improved. The yield strength was upgraded with the increment of vibration frequency and a peak occurs at a particular frequency for each VIM. The elongation at break was also raised by increased vibration frequency, and the vibration frequency also improves impact strength. Self‐reinforcing and self‐toughening polypropylene molded parts were found at high vibration frequency. The wide angle X‐ray diffraction (WAXD) curves and scanning electronic micrograph (SEM) micrographs have shown that, in the vibration field, the enhancement of mechanical properties can be attributed to the occurrence of a γ‐phase crystalline structure and a more pronounced elongation in shape than obtained by conventional injection moldings. In addition, smaller ...

A pulse pressure was superimposed on the melt flow in extrusion, called vibration extrusion. A die (L/D = 17.5) was attached to this device to study the rheological properties of an amorphous polymer (ABS) and semicrystalline polymer (PP, HDPE), prepared in the vibration field, and the conventional extrusion were studied for comparison. Results show that the melt vibration technique is an effective processing tool for improving the polymer melt flow behavior for both crystalline and amorphous polymers. The enhanced melt rheological property is also explained in terms of shear thinning criteria. Increasing with vibration frequency, extruded at constant vibration pressure amplitude, the viscosity decreases sharply, and so does when increasing vibration pressure amplitude at a constant vibrational frequency. The effect of vibrational field on melt rheological behavior depends greatly on the melt temperature, and the great decrease in viscosity is obtained at low temperature. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102: 5292–5296, 2006