Work

Ion‐Driving Polymer Entanglement for Dynamic Organic Phosphorescence

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: The development of dynamic organic phosphorescent polymers is often limited by the challenge of exerting precise and reversible control over their condensed matter structures. While external stimuli can modulate emission, a fundamental materials-level principle for governing hierarchical reorganization remains elusive. Here, we report that ion-driving entanglement of polymer chains serves as a powerful general strategy to direct reconfigurable hierarchical structures, thereby enabling highly tunable organic phosphorescence. Specifically, potassium ions programmatically bridge ether and sulfonic acid groups within κ-carrageenan (κCG), triggering polymer entanglement and chromophore aggregation to form a dynamically reversible architecture. This structural transformation, validated by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and rheology, grants control over triplet exciton behavior, yielding phosphorescence that is tunable from blue to green (CIEy: 0.037-0.382) with a lifetime of up to 199.50 ms and an efficiency of 17.97%. The entanglement is thermally reversible, allowing on-demand emission switching. Furthermore, we demonstrate the translational potential of this mechanism by constructing a visual urinary potassium analyzer, where ion-concentration-dependent phosphorescence enables quantitative detection. This work establishes polymer entanglement as a central design principle for adaptive photonic materials, opening avenues for smart sensing and healthcare monitoring.

Source: Angewandte Chemie International Edition

DOI: 10.1002/anie.2634196