APhen-functionalized nanoparticles–polymer fluorescent nanocomposites via ligand exchange and in situ bulk polymerization

Abstract

A series of APhen-functionalized ZnS nanoparticles (NPs)–polymer transparent nanocomposites with tunable fluorescent emission were prepared via ligand exchange and in situ bulk polymerization. The APhen-ZnS NPs were synthesized from the mercaptoethanol (ME)-capped ZnS nanoparticles (ME–ZnS NPs) and 5-amino-1,10-phenanthroline (APhen) by a ligand-exchange process. The APhen–ZnS NPs still had a cubic crystal structure and a diameter of about 3.0 nm as before functionalization of ME–ZnS NPs. The fluorescent emission of APhen–ZnS NPs exhibited a red shift at 550 nm as compared to ME–ZnS NPs (423 nm) and APhen (473 nm). The APhen–ZnS NPs were incorporated into different polymer matrix by in situ bulk polymerization. TEM results showed that the NPs were uniformly dispersed in the polymer matrix without aggregation. It was found that the nanocomposites exhibited a dependence of photoluminescence properties on the concentration of NPs in polymer and the composition of polymer. As the methacrylic acid (MAA) and glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) as co-monomers were introduced in polymer matrix, the emission peaks of APhen–ZnS NPs–polymer nanocomposites had a blue shift. These transparent nanocomposites with tunable photoluminescence can be potentially used for the fabrication of optical and optoelectronic devices.