Hour-Level and Air-Stable Organic Long-Persistent Luminescence from Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Materials

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Photophysics
• Bioimaging

Background:

• Organic long-persistent luminescence (OLPL) materials offer advantages for bioimaging, including low biotoxicity and reduced background fluorescence interference.
• However, existing OLPL materials often exhibit poor environmental stability and limited afterglow duration, hindering their practical application.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a stable OLPL material with enhanced and tunable afterglow properties for bioimaging.
• To investigate the underlying mechanism of OLPL emission in a novel organic-inorganic hybrid system.

Main Methods:

• A solvent-free method was employed to synthesize the NAI/BO hybrid material by incorporating 2,3-naphthalimide (NAI) into a B2O3 (BO) matrix.
• Photoluminescence and thermoluminescence spectroscopy were utilized to analyze the luminescence properties and mechanism.
• In vivo imaging experiments were conducted to evaluate the material's performance.

Main Results:

• The NAI/BO hybrid material demonstrated exceptionally long OLPL, persisting for over 20 hours and visible to the naked eye for 180 minutes.
• The OLPL emission was attributed to the phosphorescence of NAI, facilitated by defects (oxygen vacancies) in the BO matrix, involving electron trapping and thermal detrapping.
• The material was successfully applied in in vivo imaging, and the strategy proved versatile, allowing for tunable emission colors from green to orange-red by altering guest molecules.

Conclusions:

• The developed NAI/BO material represents a significant advancement in stable OLPL materials with long-lasting and tunable emission.
• The findings provide a robust foundation for designing next-generation OLPL materials for advanced bioimaging and other applications.
• The study highlights the potential of organic-inorganic hybrid systems for overcoming limitations in current OLPL technologies.