Tunable multicolor fluorescence of polyurethane derivatives controlled by molecular weight

Abstract

Boron-containing luminescent polymers have been extensively studied for their tunable absorption/emission and excellent light stability. In this study, boron-containing polyurethane derivatives with blue (PUB), green (PUG) and red (PUR) fluorescence were obtained by simply controlling the temperature and time of the reaction. Experimental and theoretical analysis has shown that a high synthesis temperature is conducive to the formation of strong inter-molecular and intra-molecular non-covalent interactions, thus promoting molecular chain aggregation, red-shifting the emission. Based on the above molecular design strategies, PUR with long-wavelength emission and excitation-dependent properties was obtained. And PUR has been used for multicolor cell imaging. This work provides a new idea for the simple development of boron-containing polymers with multicolour luminescence.