Microwave-Responsive Flexible Room-Temperature Phosphorescence Materials Based on Poly(vinylidene fluoride) Polymer

The development of flexible, room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) materials remains challenging owing to the quenching of their unstable triplet excitons via molecular motion. Therefore, a polymer matrix with Tg higher than room temperature is required to prevent polymer segment movement. In this study, a RTP material was developed by incorporating a 4-biphenylboronic acid (BPBA) phosphor into a poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) matrix (Tg=-27.1 degrees C), which exhibits a remarkable UV-light-dependent oxygen consumption phosphorescence with a lifetime of 1275.7 ms. The adjustable RTP performance is influenced by the crystallinity and polymorph (alpha, beta, and gamma phases) fraction of PVDF, therefore, the low Tg of the PVDF matrix enables the polymeric segmental motion upon microwave irradiation. Consequently, a reduction in the crystallinity and an increase in the alpha phase fraction in PVDF film induces RTP after 2.45 GHz microwave irradiation. These findings open up new avenues for constructing crystalline and phase-dependent RTP materials while demonstrating a promising approach toward microwave detection. A breakthrough in room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) emission performance was realized in a poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) matrix with a low glass transition temperature. Polymorph-dependent RTP emission in the PVDF matrix endows a 2.45 GHz microwave stimulus responsiveness to the material.image