Organic room-temperature phosphorescence materials

Abstract

Organic room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) materials have rapidly emerged as a significant research area owing to their efficient triplet-state transitions, long-lived emission lifetimes, and oxygen-sensitive behavior. These features enable diverse applications in optoelectronics, biological imaging, information encryption, and anti-counterfeiting technologies. However, no review has comprehensively summarized the advances in this field. This review begins by outlining the fundamental mechanisms underlying RTP, with emphasis on intersystem crossing, triplet-state stabilization, and suppression of nonradiative decay pathways, followed by molecular design strategies for achieving efficient and long-lived RTP, particularly those involving aggregation modulation. Next, recent advances are surveyed across various material platforms, including single- and multi-component small molecules, dendrimers, polymers, supramolecular assemblies, and organic porous frameworks, in both crystalline and amorphous forms. Moreover, emerging multifunctional systems, such as clusterization-triggered phosphorescence, circularly polarized phosphorescence, and stimuli-responsive materials, are highlighted. Third, representative applications in anti-counterfeiting, sensing, bioimaging, biotherapy, and optoelectronic devices are critically examined to demonstrate the potential of RTP materials in next-generation smart systems. Finally, key challenges are addressed, including the trade-off between quantum yield and lifetime, oxygen quenching in biological environments, and the need for mechanistic insight via advanced spectroscopic and theoretical methods. In addition, future directions are proposed, such as developing color-tunable near-infrared RTP for deep-tissue imaging and integrating RTP into multifunctional device platforms.