Boosting the humidity resistance of nonconventional luminogens with room temperature phosphorescence enhancing the strength of hydrogen bonds

• Published in: Journal of materials chemistry. C, Materials for optical and electronic devices Materials for optical and electronic devices, 2021-07, Vol.9 (27), p.8515-8523
• Main Authors: Meng, Yide, Guo, Song, Jiang, Bingli, Zhang, Xiaofeng, Zou, Linmin, Wei, Chun, Gong, Yongyang, Wu, Si, Liu, Yuanli
• Format: Article
• ISSN: 2050-7526; 2050-7534
• DOI: 10.1039/d1tc01271a

Organic room temperature phosphorescence (RTP) has drawn great attention owing to its promising applications in various fields. Hydrogen bond (H-bond) engineering has been proven to be a highly effective strategy to construct nonconventional luminescent materials. However, previous reports mainly emphasize on the enhancement of rigidity via H-bond engineering, and the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Additionally, the investigation on moisture-resistance properties, which play a crucial role in preventing luminescent materials from the humidity induced quenching of RTP emission, remains lag far behind. Herein, we demonstrate a strategy for achieving nonconventional luminogens with excellent moisture resistance. Theoretical calculation was carried out to elucidate the H-bond energy between different H-bond active sites. Then, amide and carboxyl groups are selected as models to achieve RTP. The blends and random copolymers containing acrylic acid and acrylamide units with a high phosphorescent quantum efficiency (12.00%) and a decent lifetime are prepared; the afterglow can maintain for 1 month (26 °C, humidity: 80%). Benefiting from the targeting properties, the product is successfully applied for information encryption devices. It is believed that intermolecular H-bond-enhanced RTP emission with excellent humidity resistance will be extremely instructive for the further development of nonconventional luminogens. A rational principle for designing nonconventional RTP luminogens with excellent humidity resistance through H-bond engineering was presented.