Tailored Electronic Structure and Optical Properties of Conjugated Systems through Aggregates and Dipole–Dipole Interactions

A series of PPVO (<i>p</i>-phenylene vinylene oligomer) derivatives with functional groups of varying electronegativity were synthesized via the Horner–Wadsworth–Emmons reaction. Subtle changes in the end group functionality significantly impact the molecular electronic and optical properties of the PPVOs, resulting in broadly tunable and efficient UV absorption and photoluminescence spectra. Of particular interest is the NO₂-substituted PPVO which exhibits photoluminescence color ranging from the blue to the red, thus encompassing the entire visible spectrum. Our experimental study and electronic structure calculations suggest that the formation of aggregates and strong dipole–dipole solute–solvent interactions are responsible for the observed strong solvatochromism. Experimental and theoretical results for the NH₂-, H-, and NO₂-substituted PPVOs suggest that the stabilization of ground or excited state dipoles leads to the blue or red shift of the optical spectra. The electroluminescence (EL) spectra of H-, COOH-, and NO₂-PPVO have maxima at 487, 518, and 587 nm, respectively, in the OLED device. This trend in the EL spectra is in excellent agreement with the end group-dependent PL spectra of the PPVO thin-films

NIR-Triggered High-Efficiency Self-Healable Protective Optical Coating for Vision Systems

Recently, self-healing materials have evolved to recover specific functions such as electronic, magnetic, acoustic, structural or hierarchical, and biological properties. In particular, the development of self-healing protection coatings that can be applied to lens components in vision systems such as augmented reality glasses, actuators, and image and time-of-flight sensors has received intensive attention from the industry. In the present study, we designed polythiourethane dynamic networks containing a photothermal N-butyl-substituted diimmonium borate dye to demonstrate their potential applications in self-healing protection coatings for the optical components of vision systems. The optimized self-healing coating exhibited a high transmittance (∼95% in the visible-light region), tunable refractive index (up to 1.6), a moderate Abbe number (∼35), and high surface hardness (>200 MPa). When subjected to near-infrared (NIR) radiation (1064 nm), the surface temperature of the coating increased to 75 °C via the photothermal effect and self-healing of the scratched coatings occurred via a dynamic thiourethane exchange reaction. The coating was applied to a lens protector, and its self-healing performance was demonstrated. The light signal distorted by the scratched surface of the coating was perfectly restored after NIR-induced self-healing. The photoinduced self-healing process can also autonomously occur under sunlight with low energy consumption

NIR-Triggered High-Efficiency Self-Healable Protective Optical Coating for Vision Systems

Recently, self-healing materials have evolved to recover specific functions such as electronic, magnetic, acoustic, structural or hierarchical, and biological properties. In particular, the development of self-healing protection coatings that can be applied to lens components in vision systems such as augmented reality glasses, actuators, and image and time-of-flight sensors has received intensive attention from the industry. In the present study, we designed polythiourethane dynamic networks containing a photothermal N-butyl-substituted diimmonium borate dye to demonstrate their potential applications in self-healing protection coatings for the optical components of vision systems. The optimized self-healing coating exhibited a high transmittance (∼95% in the visible-light region), tunable refractive index (up to 1.6), a moderate Abbe number (∼35), and high surface hardness (>200 MPa). When subjected to near-infrared (NIR) radiation (1064 nm), the surface temperature of the coating increased to 75 °C via the photothermal effect and self-healing of the scratched coatings occurred via a dynamic thiourethane exchange reaction. The coating was applied to a lens protector, and its self-healing performance was demonstrated. The light signal distorted by the scratched surface of the coating was perfectly restored after NIR-induced self-healing. The photoinduced self-healing process can also autonomously occur under sunlight with low energy consumption