High-Strength Polyurethane Elastomer with Phototunable Mechanical Properties and Fluorescence

A high-performance polyurethane elastomer with conjugated structures on chains was designed and synthesized. First, the π–π conjugated interaction can enhance the mechanical properties of polyurethane via noncovalent cross-linking without ruining recyclability. Meanwhile, due to the photocontrolled cis–trans isomerization of imine bonds, the conjugation of the aromatic rings exhibited a UV light-controllable characteristic, thereby enabling the control of the mechanical properties of polyurethane with UV light. The fluorescence properties of the conjugated structure can also be controlled by UV light via photoisomerization of CN. Therefore, in this study, a kind of polyurethane elastomer with UV light-controllable mechanical properties and fluorescence emission was obtained. While its mechanical performance is tuned by UV light, it can also be applied in the area of information storage due to its tunable fluorescence. Patterns and information can be written on the polyurethane film via UV light irradiation.