Long-lived luminescence and photochromic cellulose acetate-based fiber: preparation, characterization, and potential applications

Persistent luminescent fiber with photochromic properties is highly desirable because of its promising applications in smart textiles. However, to our knowledge, preparing the red persistent luminescent fiber with photochromic performance via a facile method has not been investigated. Herein, we report a facile one-step wet spinning method to fabricate red persistent luminous fiber with reversible photochromic performance, by integrating the red luminescent Y 2 O 2 S:Eu 3+ , Mg 2+ , Ti 4+ phosphor and spiropyran dye into the cellulose acetate (CA) matrix (LPCA). The phosphor and dye are distributed in the LPCA fiber uniformly. The as-synthesized fiber presented reversible and quick photochromic performance with good fatigue resistance for more than 80 cycles. Besides, the LPCA fiber exhibits excellent red persistent luminescence properties after excitation. In particular, the addition of spiropyran dye enhances the luminous color purity of LPCA fiber from 88.81 to 92.3% compared with luminescent CA fiber. In contrast with previously reported luminous fiber that needed a complicated and rigorous fabrication process, the as-prepared fiber can be fabricated with a facile method and exhibits promising applications for smart textile and information encryption.