Fabrication of luminescent nanoarchitectures by electron irradiation of polystyrene

A study was conducted to demonstrate the fabrication of luminescent nanostructures by electron irradiation of polystyrene (PS) hiomopolymer. It was discovered that non-luminescent PS can be converted into a luminescent organic material, the emitting color of which can be tuned by electro irradiation. It was demonstrated that luminescent nanopatterns can be fabricated by irradiating selected regions of PS, by an electron beam. It was also demonstrated that the approach, along with self-assembled PS nanostructures, allows the fabrication of diverse and complex luminescent nanoarchitectures. It was demonstrated that PS consists of long hydrocarbon chains with an aromatic ring in the repeating unit. It was also observe that PS does not exhibit luminescence in the visible spectral region. It was also observed that PS emitted intense visible light, when the polymer is irradiated with an electron beam.