Electrospinning of luminescence nanofibers: Current and future trends in wearable light-emitting devices

Abstract Electroluminescence, a mode of light emission from materials under cold conditions, can be categorized as a physical luminescence phenomenon, which involves different interactions between charge carriers. Mostly, material intrinsic properties like bandgaps and molecular structures determine the resulting luminescence properties, and thus can be tuned for targeted applications. On the other hand, electrospinning, the technology of electrostatic fiber formation, can easily tailor the molecular orientation and the crystallinity of individual nanofibers as they are being produced. This unparalleled capability plays a vital role since it enables the fusion of different physical properties to material systems. This chapter discusses luminescence, specially the electroluminescence properties of electrospun nanofibers. First, a brief introduction to electrospinning technology with its basic principles is given. It is followed by a discussion focusing on electroluminescence and a review of luminescent properties of nanofibers and fiber-based light-emitting devices while highlighting the emerging role of electroluminescence in wearable technology. The future aspects of electrospun nanofibers are finally covered in wearable electroluminescence field along with the suggestions on further research possibilities.