Multicolor Room-Temperature Phosphorescence Achieved by Intrinsic Polymers Containing Solely One Phosphor Unit

Room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) materials have attracted much attention due to their unique luminescence properties. However, it is very challenging to tune the afterglow color of pure amorphous polymers by using only one kind of phosphor unit so far. Here, we proposed a strategy to induce pyrene derivatives (VPY) into the main chain of the polymer by free radical copolymerization, followed by alcoholysis to form poly(vinyl alcohol) derivative materials (PVA–PVPY) with strong hydrogen bond network structures. It was surprising that the obtained intrinsic polymers containing only one kind of phosphor unit achieved multicolor long-lived RTP. The RTP performance of the obtained polymers exhibited concentration, excitation, and time dependence. The experimental and theoretical results demonstrated that these characteristics were attributed to the different aggregated states of phosphor units in polymer chains, which revealed the luminescence mechanism of the aggregated and isolated states of phosphor units to produce multicolor RTP. In addition, we explored the application of these polymers based on color-tunable RTP properties in information encryption and flexible wearables. This strategy contributes to the development of multicolored smart luminescent materials as well as flexible wearable materials.