Terpyridine-functionalized cross-linked polyacrylamide hydrogel for white emission and multistimuli-responsive behaviour

A highly efficient and multifunctional white-emitting hydrogel was fabricated using a facile copolymerization process by introducing hydrophilic terpyridine-based chromophore into a polyacrylamide network. White emission was obtained by a simple procedure for adjusting the concentration of chromophore. The CIE 1931 chromaticity coordinates of white emission with 360 nm excitation were (0.349, 0.331). Exploiting the specific sensitivities of terpyridyl group, the white emission was also highly sensitive to pH and metal ions. We envision this photoluminescent hydrogel as a versatile material for chemical and environmental sensing.