Poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) was reinforced with electrospun glass nanofibres (EGN) to develop photochromic and afterglow materials such as smart windows and anti-counterfeiting prints. A colourless electrospun glass nanofibres@poly(vinyl chloride) (EGN@PVC) sheet was prepared by physical integration of lanthanide-doped aluminate nanoparticles (LANP). The low concentrations of LANP in the photochromic and photoluminescent EGN@PVC hybrids displayed fluorescence emission with instant reversibility. EGN@PVC with the highest phosphor concentrations showed persistent phosphorescence emission with slow reversibility. Based on the results of the Commission Internationale de l'éclairage Laboratory and luminescence spectroscopy, the translucent EGN@PVC samples became green in the presence of ultraviolet illumination and greenish-yellow in the absence of light. According to scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses, the morphological study of EGN and LANP showed diameters of 75-95 and 11-19 nm, respectively. The morphology of the EGN@PVC substrates was studied using SEM, X-ray fluorescence, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The mechanical characteristics of PVC were enhanced by reinforcement with EGN as a roughening agent. When comparing the scratching resistance of LANP-free substrate to photoluminescent EGN@PVC substrates, it was observed that the latter was much superior. The photoluminescence spectra were reported to have an emission peak at 519 nm when excited at 365 nm. These findings demonstrated that the luminous transparent EGN@PVC composites had improved superhydrophobic and UV-blocking characteristics.
Keywords: afterglow; electrospun glass nanofibres; phosphor nanoparticles; photochromism; poly(vinyl chloride).
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