Color-Tunable Aqueous Room-Temperature Phosphorescence Supramolecular Assembly

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Supramolecular Chemistry
• Optoelectronics

Background:

• Developing room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) materials with tunable colors in aqueous environments is challenging but crucial for advanced optoelectronic applications.
• Existing RTP materials often suffer from quenching in water, limiting their practical use.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and develop novel excitation wavelength-responsive RTP supramolecular co-assembly systems in aqueous solution.
• To achieve simultaneous ultralong lifetime and high phosphorescence quantum efficiency in water.

Main Methods:

• Co-assembly of a benzoic acid derivative with Laponite (Lap) clay nanoplates in aqueous solution.
• Experimental and theoretical studies to elucidate the mechanisms behind RTP performance.
• Utilizing synergistic effects of hydrogen bonding, J-aggregation, and oxygen tolerance.

Main Results:

• Achieved ultralong RTP lifetime (0.632 s) and high quantum efficiency (18.04%) simultaneously.
• Demonstrated excitation wavelength-responsive color tuning.
• Successfully applied the materials for visual colorimetric detection of Ag+ ions in water.
• Accomplished visible and high-level information encryption.

Conclusions:

• The developed RTP supramolecular system offers a promising strategy for advanced optoelectronic applications in aqueous media.
• The synergistic effects of hydrogen bonding, J-aggregation, and Lap clay's properties are key to overcoming water quenching.
• The materials show potential for sensitive environmental sensing and secure information encoding.