Carbon dots confined in 3D polymer network: Producing robust room temperature phosphorescence with tunable lifetimes

Room temperature phosphorescence (RTP) is important in both organic electronics and encryption. Despite rapid advances, a universal approach to robust and tunable RTP materials based on amorphous polymers remains a formidable challenge. Here, we present a strategy that uses three-dimensional (3D) confinement of carbon dots in a polymer network to achieve ultra-long lifetime phosphorescence. The RTP of the as-obtained materials was not quenched in different polar organic solvents and the lifetime of the RTP was easily tuned by adjusting the amount of crosslinking or varying the drying temperature of the 3D molecular network. As a demonstration of potential application, as-obtained RTP materials were successfully used to prepare RTP fibres for flexible textiles. As well as bringing to light a fundamental principle for the construction of polymer materials with RTP, we have endowed traditional carbon dots and polymers with fresh features that will expand potential applications.