Color-Tunable Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence Polymeric Materials Constructed by Host–Guest Complexation Revealing Rewritable Advanced Information Encryption

Abstract

In this work, we report a facile and efficient supramolecular strategy for the construction of color-tunable thermally activated delayed fluorescence polymeric materials (TADF PMs) through host–guest complexation. Consequently, new kinds of TADF PMs exhibiting multicolor emissions were constructed conveniently by mixing a calix[3]acridan-modified polymer and various commercially available receptors. This emergent TADF property was attributed to the formation of the through-space charge transfer (TSCT) interactions between the macrocyclic donor in the polymer and the guest acceptors. Moreover, multicolor emission and high photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of up to 40% were achieved readily by tailoring the guests with different electron-withdrawing abilities. Further, we found that the TADF PMs could be prepared readily on a large scale with good processability; thus, the approach could achieve potential application on rewritable advanced information encryption. Therefore, this work not only develops an efficient supramolecular strategy to design and construct color-tunable TADF PMs but also offers a new perspective for their practical applications in materials science.