Electrospun glass nanofibers to strengthen polycarbonate plastic glass toward photoluminescent smart materials

Salhah H Alrefaee; Rua B Alnoman; Noof A Alenazi; Haifa Alharbi; Kholood Alkhamis; Hatun H Alsharief; Nashwa M El-Metwaly

doi:10.1016/j.saa.2023.122986

Electrospun glass nanofibers to strengthen polycarbonate plastic glass toward photoluminescent smart materials

Spectrochim Acta A Mol Biomol Spectrosc. 2023 Dec 5:302:122986. doi: 10.1016/j.saa.2023.122986. Epub 2023 Jun 10.

Authors

Salhah H Alrefaee¹, Rua B Alnoman², Noof A Alenazi³, Haifa Alharbi⁴, Kholood Alkhamis⁵, Hatun H Alsharief⁶, Nashwa M El-Metwaly⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Taibah University, Yanbu 30799, Saudi Arabia.
² Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Taibah University, Madinah P.O. Box 344, Saudi Arabia.
³ Department of Chemistry, College of Science and Humanities in Al-Kharj, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj 11942, Saudi Arabia. Electronic address: na.alenazi@psau.edu.sa.
⁴ Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Northern Border University, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ Department of Chemistry, College of Science, University of Tabuk, 71474 Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
⁶ Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Applied Science, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah 24230, Saudi Arabia.
⁷ Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Applied Science, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah 24230, Saudi Arabia. Electronic address: nmmohamed@uqu.edu.sa.

PMID: 37336189
DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2023.122986

Abstract

Electrospun glass nanofibers (GNFs) were used to strengthen polycarbonate (PC) to create long-persistent photoluminescent and fluorescent smart materials such as afterglow concrete and smart window. Physical integration of lanthanide-activated aluminate (LA) nanoparticles (NPs) yielded transparent GNFs@PC smart sheets. Spectral investigations utilizing photoluminescence and CIE Lab parameters were performed to confirm that the translucent appearance of GNFs@PC changed to green when exposed to UV light. This fluorescence activity was quickly reversible for the GNFs@PC hybrids with low concentrations of LANPs, which indicate fluorescence emission. Higher phosphor concentrations in GNFs@PC led to longer-lasting afterglow photoluminescence and slower reversibility. The GNFs@PC hybrids showed an emission band detected at 518 nm upon excitation at 368 nm. The morphological characteristics of LANPs and GNFs were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), which revealed sizes of 11-26 nm and 250-300 nm, respectively. GNFs were prepared using electrospinning technology and then used as a roughening agent into PC sheets. Morphological characteristics of GNFs and GNFs@PC smart sheets were examined using energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXA), X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The GNFs@PC smart sheets were shown to have enhanced scratch resistance in comparison to LANPs-free PC control sample. Increases in LANPs concentration enhanced both hydrophobicity and UV protection.

Keywords: Afterglow; Electrospun glass nanofibers; Fluorescence; Polycarbonate; SrAl(2)O(4): Eu(2+), Dy(3+).