Highly Stretchable and Fast Self-Healing Luminescent Materials

Nowadays, the flourishing exploitation of multifunction luminescent materials with fast self-healing and superior mechanical features greatly broadens the scope for wide applications in optical and display devices, but this is still a formidably challenging task. Herein, we realize color-tunable luminescent materials functionalized with lanthanide ions (Ln³⁺) and terpyridine ligand coordination complexes that show highly stretchable and rapid self-healing performance, simultaneously broadening their application prospects both optically and mechanically. The multiple color emission, including visible and near-infrared luminescence, can be achieved by energy transfer from the coordinating terpyridine unit to Ln³⁺ via the so-called "antenna effect". The dynamic Ln-N coordination exhibits extreme stretchability and fast self-healing under ambient conditions. Of particular interest is that the healing process is not significantly affected by surface aging and atmospheric moisture. The multifunction materials open up a new pathway for future development of the next-generation wearable electronics including flexible and self-healable conductors.