One-pot fabrication of flexible and luminescent nanofilm by in-situ radical polymerization of vinyl carbazole on nanofibrillated cellulose

Photoresponsive functionalized nanofilms were prepared via radical polymerization of carbazole units on a nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) backbone via one-pot procedure. Herein, NFC was functionalized with active carbazole units as pendant organic moieties. The nanofilms were characterized by UV-vis and fluorescence spectroscopy, Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy, ¹³C NMR and proton NMR spectra, contact angle analysis, mechanical testing, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The fabricated nanofilms exhibited large tensile strength (∼110 MPa), higher hydrophobicity and luminescence activity. The results indicated that the prepared optically active nanofilms present potential applications in the fields of flexible organic light emitting devices.