Photoluminescent textiles incorporating QDs/photopolymer composites : towards a new generation of lighting devices – LumiTex

Photoluminescence has recently burst into the world of textiles due to the large number of potential applications ranging from security to architecture and decoration. This project, aims to develop new white light generating devices based on the use of textile materials made photoluminescent by a judicious choice of quantum dots (QDs) excited by laser diodes emitting in the blue or violet range. It is based on the eco-design of a formulation associating heavy metal-free QDs with biocompatible monomers and its coating onto a textile material by an environmentally friendly photo-induced process.
In this context, the key steps of the project will consist in:
• Synthesizing heavy metal-free QDs with tunable optical properties in the visible range;
• Developing a photo-induced synthesis of highly photoluminescent QDs/polymer nanoassemblies by adjusting the size, composition, organization/spatial distribution of QDs in the polymer film and implementing this technology in textile applications;
• Preparing new photoluminesent textiles with targeted photometric characteristics when combined with violet/blue LED chips;
• Establishing the feasibility of the process by manufacturing the functionalized textile in a semi-industrial line at the R&D lab of the industrial partner.
The expected result is a new generation of photoluminescent textiles for building and transportation lighting applications. These systems will be able to provide cold to warm white light and polychromatic patterns under the excitation of LEDs and with higher energy efficiency than devices currently available.
The LumiTex project takes advantage of the down conversion principle to produce visible light when the photoluminescent material is excited by violet/blue LEDs. For that purpose, it promotes the development of down converters-based QDs capable of satisfying all the constraints inherent to this original approach. Thus, by exploiting the intrinsic characteristics of QDs/polymer nanomaterials, this innovative strategy makes it possible to advance LED-based lighting by correcting some of its shortcomings (homogeneity of illumination, better color rendering, absence of glare, elimination of shadows, ...) while allowing substantial savings in electrical energy.
This unprecedented, fast and inexpensive approach should open the door to a new generation of technical textiles; it could also be extended to other surfaces (paper, glass, plastic, wood...) to initiate a whole series of original developments.