Achieving polymer nanocomposites with improved elasticity
and stable
mechanical and fluorescence properties remains challenging due to
the aggregation tendency of fluorescent carbon nanomaterials, particularly
for a polymer with no functional groups. To alleviate the aforementioned
issues, the “grafting from” method can be employed via
covalent bonding design. Herein, we exploit the “grafting from”
method coupled with reversible fragment-added chain transfer polymerization
to construct soft polyisoprene (PI) chains onto a photostable nitrogen,
sulfur, and phosphorus-doped carbon quantum dot (NSP–CQD) surface
for the preparation of flexible fluorescent NSP–CQDs-grafted-polyisoprene (NSP–CQDs-g-PI
x
) nanocomposite films. By tuning
the molecular weight of PI in NSP–CQDs-g-PI
x
(x = 8, 13, and 18 kg mol–1), the elastic and mechanical properties can be tailored.
Upon an intense tensile cyclic test, the NSP–CQDs-g-PI18K generates remarkable elasticity, indicated by the
absence of permanent deformation or residual strain even after multiple
loading–unloading tests up to 50 times. Moreover, compared
with the blending method that tends to cause reduced photoluminescence
properties due to the NSP–CQD agglomeration, the grafting method
intelligibly maintains the fluorescence property. This study concludes
that “grafting from” is a feasible method for fabricating
CQD-loaded composites, which have great potential to meet the demand
for advanced stretchable and flexible organic electronic devices.