Formation and Photoluminescence of Fluorescent Polymers
1Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
2Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
3Oy Keskuslaboratorio- Centrallaboratorium Ab (KCL), Tekniikantie, P.O. Box 70, 02151 Espoo, Finland
4Department of Applied Chemistry, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
5Department of Chemistry, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
6Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
Formation and Photoluminescence of Fluorescent Polymers
Description
During the past two decades, there is an enormous demand for fluorescent materials, and research on fluorescent polymers has attracted increasing attention because of their engrossing properties and important application in the fields of materials and life science. The latest research progress in fluorescent polymers is focused on the formation and photoluminescence of fluorescent polymers with new architecture. There are different methods to classify fluorescent polymers. For example, according to its solubility, fluorescent polymers can be divided into three types which are hydrophobic, hydrophilic, and amphiphilic, individually. Various methods of design and synthesis of fluorescent polymers have also been developed. Fluorescent polymers can be synthesized by using fluorescent compounds as initiator, fluorescent compounds as chain transfer agents, polymerization of fluorescent functional monomers, chemical bonding between fluorescent compounds and polymers, and polymerization of nonfluorescent functional monomer.
Fluorescent polymers are functional macromolecules with important application prospect. Their applications involve the fields of fluorescent chemosensor, fluorescent molecular thermometers, fluorescent imaging, drug delivery carriers, fluorescent probe, smart polymer machines, and so on. Polymers are convenient due to the fact that they are easily processable to small particles and thin films that can be deposited onto optical fibers and waveguides for sensor fabrication. Advanced strategies such as electrostatic layer-by-layer assembly, and self-assembly of amphiphilic block copolymers containing chromophores, have also been used for the formation of fluorescent systems.
The aim of this special issue is to bring forth the synergy between architecture and photoluminescence through new and significant contributions from active researchers in the field. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
- Design and formation of new fluorescent polymers
- Characterization of new fluorescent polymers
- Photoluminescence of fluorescent polymers
- Applications of fluorescent polymers
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