Mechanochromism of a Perylene Diimide Derivative-Doped Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene Block Copolymer

Abstract

Mechanochromic materials respond to external stimuli and provide early warnings of material damage. Perylene diimide(PDI)-based materials have attracted attention because of their outstanding fluorescence performance. However, the application of PDI in mechanochromism is limited by the difficulty for mechanical forces to disrupt the aggregation of PDI and its derivatives, as well as the fluorescence quenching caused by continuous π-π stacking between PDI molecules. To eliminate the fluorescence quenching effect caused by the aggregation of PDI and broaden its application fields, polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane(POSS)-PDI-POSS(PPP) was screened as PDI doping. The photophysical properties of PPP in both monomeric and aggregated states in different solvents were studied. Then, PPP and styrene-butadiene-styrene block copolymer(SBS) were mixed to prepare the PPP/SBS film. The mechanochromic properties of PPP/SBS film were explored. The fluorescence emission spectra confirmed that when the PPP mass fraction increased to 0.30%, the PPP/SBS film exhibited mechanochromic behavior under uniaxial deformation due to the changes in the molecular packing.

Keywords

mechanochromism / perylene diimide(PDI) / styrene-butadiene-styrene block copolymer(SBS) / fluorescence

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Funding

Yunfu 2023 Innovation Team Project, China(CYRC202305)