One-pot fabrication of flexible and luminescent nanofilm by in-situ radical polymerization of vinyl carbazole on nanofibrillated cellulose

[Display omitted] •Flexible and photoluminescence NFC-based film were prepared via in-situ polymerization.•The combination of NFC with active carbazole enables photoluminescence activity.•The optically active nanofilm shows good mechanical and thermal properties. Photoresponsive functionalized nanofilms were prepared via radical polymerization of carbazole units on a nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) backbone via one-pot procedure. Herein, NFC was functionalized with active carbazole units as pendant organic moieties. The nanofilms were characterized by UV–vis and fluorescence spectroscopy, Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy, 13C NMR and proton NMR spectra, contact angle analysis, mechanical testing, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The fabricated nanofilms exhibited large tensile strength (∼110 MPa), higher hydrophobicity and luminescence activity. The results indicated that the prepared optically active nanofilms present potential applications in the fields of flexible organic light emitting devices.