journal article·2026-04-29

Stretchable and Self-Healing Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence Polymer via Dynamic Hydrogen Bond Engineering for Durable Flexible OLEDs

Caixia Yang, Wenzhong Bian, Shun Hu, Youqiang Qian, Mengting Li, Junyi Chen, Shuang Chen, Wenli Shi, Jiangqi Jiang, Hai Zhou, Xinxin Ban

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces· Volume 18· Issue 16
Publisher page

Abstract

The development of intrinsically stretchable and self-healing electroluminescent materials has remained a critical challenge for next-generation skin-like displays and biointegrated optoelectronics. Here, we report the first dynamic bond-engineered thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) polyurethane (PUCN-x) that combines practical stretchability, high efficiency, and a robust self-healing capability. By integrating a TADF emitter into a segmented polyurethane backbone synthesized with isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI) and tunable polyalcohol soft segments, we achieve simultaneous control over the chain mobility and chromophore stacking. The resulting material exhibits exceptional functional recovery─after being subjected to stretching, bending, or scratch damage─and the polymer consistently maintains high electroluminescent performance. It demonstrates efficient self-healing under mild conditions (50 °C) without compromising luminescence, achieving a peak external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 13.3%. Optimized PUCN-1 retains over 85% of its original EQE after multiple damage-healing cycles, highlighting outstanding operational resilience. This work establishes a versatile molecular design strategy for durable, high-performance TADF elastomers, paving the way toward reliable, flexible displays and lighting technologies.
Source: openalex_inverted_index · Quality: baseline

Research context

OpenAlex topics: Polymer composites and self-healing · Advanced Materials and Mechanics · Hydrogels: synthesis, properties, applications

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Function Control Technology for Advanced Materials

Jiangsu Ocean University

Funding

Six Talent Peaks Project in Jiangsu Province · Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions · Lianyungang 521 Funding Project · Lianyungang Project for Transformation of Scientific and Technological Achievements · Postgraduate Research & Practice Innovation Program of Jiangsu Province · National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) · Key Discipline Construction Program of Jiangsu Province · First-class Undergraduate Majors Construction Program of Jiangsu Province

References (55)

Show source-provided references
1. 10.1002/pi.602310.1002/pi.6023 ↗
2. 10.1038/nmat245910.1038/nmat2459 ↗
3. 10.1126/science.aac508210.1126/science.aac5082 ↗
4. 10.1038/423136a10.1038/423136a ↗
5. 10.1038/nphoton.2015.3710.1038/nphoton.2015.37 ↗
6. 10.1038/s41586-018-0390-x10.1038/s41586-018-0390-x ↗
7. 10.1038/s41467-024-48396-w10.1038/s41467-024-48396-w ↗
8. 10.1126/sciadv.aas953010.1126/sciadv.aas9530 ↗
9. 10.1021/acsphotonics.1c0116110.1021/acsphotonics.1c01161 ↗
10. 10.1126/sciadv.abg918010.1126/sciadv.abg9180 ↗
11. 10.1126/sciadv.150185610.1126/sciadv.1501856 ↗
12. 10.1021/acsnano.0c0664910.1021/acsnano.0c06649 ↗
13. 10.1002/smll.20240059310.1002/smll.202400593 ↗
14. 10.1038/s41528-024-00332-010.1038/s41528-024-00332-0 ↗
15. 10.1002/advs.20227022410.1002/advs.202270224 ↗
16. 10.1002/adma.20220679710.1002/adma.202206797 ↗
17. 10.1038/s41467-023-40191-310.1038/s41467-023-40191-3 ↗
18. 10.1038/s41565-022-01246-610.1038/s41565-022-01246-6 ↗
19. 10.1038/s41467-024-50358-110.1038/s41467-024-50358-1 ↗
20. 10.1126/science.aah449610.1126/science.aah4496 ↗
21. 10.1038/s41586-022-04400-110.1038/s41586-022-04400-1 ↗
22. 10.1002/anie.20200758910.1002/anie.202007589 ↗
23. 10.1038/s41467-021-23798-210.1038/s41467-021-23798-2 ↗
24. 10.1126/sciadv.abd971510.1126/sciadv.abd9715 ↗
25. 10.1038/s41563-023-01529-w10.1038/s41563-023-01529-w ↗
26. 10.1002/adfm.20180422210.1002/adfm.201804222 ↗
27. 10.1002/adfm.20060124810.1002/adfm.200601248 ↗
28. 10.1038/nature2010210.1038/nature20102 ↗
29. 10.1021/acsami.4c1577410.1021/acsami.4c15774 ↗
30. 10.1002/adma.20241154710.1002/adma.202411547 ↗
31. 10.1126/science.118238310.1126/science.1182383 ↗
32. 10.1021/acsami.7b1951110.1021/acsami.7b19511 ↗
33. 10.1039/D4RA09084E10.1039/D4RA09084E ↗
34. 10.1038/s41467-024-47718-210.1038/s41467-024-47718-2 ↗
35. 10.1002/adma.20170684610.1002/adma.201706846 ↗
36. 10.1126/sciadv.ade298810.1126/sciadv.ade2988 ↗
37. 10.1016/j.nanoen.2022.10706110.1016/j.nanoen.2022.107061 ↗
38. 10.1016/j.nanoen.2022.10739210.1016/j.nanoen.2022.107392 ↗
39. 10.1016/j.nanoen.2023.10848810.1016/j.nanoen.2023.108488 ↗
40. 10.1038/s41565-018-0244-610.1038/s41565-018-0244-6 ↗
41. 10.1002/marc.20240063010.1002/marc.202400630 ↗
42. 10.1039/C8CS00834E10.1039/C8CS00834E ↗
43. 10.1002/adma.20190476510.1002/adma.201904765 ↗
44. 10.1002/advs.20190018610.1002/advs.201900186 ↗
45. 10.1093/nsr/nwac09010.1093/nsr/nwac090 ↗
46. 10.1016/j.mser.2021.10063110.1016/j.mser.2021.100631 ↗
47. 10.1002/aelm.20170042910.1002/aelm.201700429 ↗
48. 10.1039/C8CS00814K10.1039/C8CS00814K ↗
49. 10.1016/j.isci.2023.10592410.1016/j.isci.2023.105924 ↗
50. 10.1063/1.46491310.1063/1.464913 ↗
51. 10.1021/acsomega.4c0026910.1021/acsomega.4c00269 ↗
52. 10.1103/PhysRevB.37.78510.1103/PhysRevB.37.785 ↗
53. 10.1002/jcc.2288510.1002/jcc.22885 ↗
54. 10.1016/0263-7855(96)00018-510.1016/0263-7855(96)00018-5 ↗
55. 10.1080/08927022.2021.189209310.1080/08927022.2021.1892093 ↗