Biodegradable polymer-based long persistent luminescent (LPL) materials have emerged as a new class of sustainable optical materials that combine environmentally friendly degradation behavior with ultralong afterglow emission. Unlike traditional inorganic persistent phosphors relying on defect traps in crystalline lattices, biodegradable polymer systems achieve room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) and long-lived luminescence through molecular confinement, oxygen shielding, and triplet state stabilization within polymer matrices such as polylactic acid (PLA), polycaprolactone (PCL), and polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs, including PHB). Over the past decade, significant progress has been made in molecular design strategies, donor–acceptor exciplex engineering, crystallization control, and nanostructuring techniques such as electrospinning and 3D printing. This review systematically summarizes recent advances in biodegradable polymer-based LPL systems, focusing on mechanisms, structure-property relationships, and representative material platforms based on PLA, PCL, and PHB. Finally, emerging applications in bioimaging, anti-counterfeiting, smart packaging, and transient electronics are discussed, along with current challenges and future perspectives.
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Shi, Y., Li, M., Qi, Z., Tang, Z., Zhao, K., Tang, B., Liu, S., Guo, Z. (2026) Biodegradable Polymer-based Long Persistent Luminescent Materials: Recent Advances in PLA, PCL and PHB Systems, Mechanisms, and Emerging Applications. Scientific Research Bulletin, 3(3), 65-69. https://doi.org/10.71052/srb2024/YBIT4533