Room-Temperature Phosphorescence of Natural Silkworm Cocoon Silk

Due to its advantages, such as biocompatibility and controllability, silk has been used in various biomedical applications. Nowadays, researchers have improved silk fibers with new functions to expand their applicability. Many studies have focused on improving leaves feeding for silkworms to produce fluorescence, and the study of organic afterglow silkworm cocoon silk (SCS) is an unprecedented innovative combination. Here, we use natural SCS to prepare room-temperature phosphorescent materials by doping with luminescent difluoroboron β-diketonate (BF2bdk). SCS shells can provide a rigid environment for the BF2bdk triplet to suppress its nonradiative decay and oxygen quenching. In addition, room-temperature phosphorescent materials were prepared by improving leaves and processing raw silk as well as using natural products such as feathers and shells as matrices. There is a lot of potential application value of widely sourced, diverse in composition, environmentally friendly, and sustainable natural functionalized products.