External Heavy-Atom Activated Phosphorescence of Organic Luminophores in a Rigid Fluid Matrix

Abstract

Growing attention has been paid to pure organic room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP). Although an insufficient population and fast nonradiative decay of triplet excitons are avoided in recent endeavors, complicated synthesis and limited universality still hinder its development. Further, fluid RTP materials are more difficult to design because of faster nonradiative relaxation. Herein, a deep eutectic mixture of glucose and choline, a stable supercooled liquid at room temperature, is employed as a matrix. Direct transformation from commercial fluorescent dyes to RTP fluid is realized by doping without modifications. The excited triplet states are generated by an external heavy atom, while the rigid noncovalent network stabilizes them with both functions intrinsic to the liquid matrix. Modulation of matrix components also results in nearly white light emission of a single dye. This study presents a general strategy to design fluid RTP materials starting from the vast library of fluorophores.