Electron-Donating Aminosilane Bridging Enables General Access to Full-Color Aqueous Phosphorescent Nanospheres

The pursuit of a universal and efficient strategy for converting organic molecules into aqueous-phase phosphorescent nanoparticles (PNPs) exhibiting prolonged afterglow and uniform morphology represents a persistent challenge in materials chemistry. In this study, we report a general in situ silanization platform that enables the integration of organic precursors into silica-based matrices via an aminosilane-mediated "bridge", yielding monodisperse, size-tunable (10∼320 nm) full-color PNPs with emission spanning blue-purple to red. Aminosilanes with electron-donating characteristics not only promote an intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) state to enhance intersystem crossing (ISC) efficiency but also facilitate the encapsulation of silanized anhydride within silica frameworks (ASLs@SiO₂), effectively shielding the emitters from aqueous and oxygen quenching. Orthogonal screening across 14 anhydrides and 12 aminosilanes validated the strategy's universality, achieving full-color afterglow with a maximum lifetime of 1128.07 ms and a quantum yield of 24.04%. Furthermore, to precisely control dispersion and size, two distinct ASLs@SiO₂ architectures were engineered: one embedding silanized anhydride within a concentric silica interlayer, and another infusing it into dendritic porous silica spheres. This scalable, low-cost synthesis (∼$1 per 150 g) underscores the commercial viability of the approach and establishes a new approach for designing high-performance aqueous-phase PNPs.