Triarylmethanol Derivatives with Ultralong Organic Room-Temperature Phosphorescence

Triphenylmethyl-based compounds such as rhodamines and fluoresceine representing an old and well-known class of triphenylmethane dyes, are widely used in fluorescent labeling of bioimaging. Inspired by ultralong room temperature phosphorescence of triphenylphosphine derivatives, herein we report a methoxy substituted triarylmethanol ((4-methoxyphenyl)diphenylmethanol, LJW-1) exhibits ultralong room temperature phosphorescence (RTP) under ambient condition with afterglows of about 7 seconds. Its multiple C-H ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ π intermolecular interactions, C-H ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ O intermolecular interactions, hydrogen bond and π-π interactions are beneficial for forming rigid environment in the aggregated state which is evidently an important factor in the appearance of excellent RTP. Different substituents on triarylmethanol result in compounds with different lifetimes varying from 7 μs to 818 ms. The substituent effects on the phosphorescence of triarylmethanol derivatives provide an efficient method for the design of organic RTP materials and may be enlightening the phosphorescence research of triarylmethanol derivatives.