An Unexpected Chromophore–Solvent Reaction Leads to Bicomponent Aggregation‐Induced Phosphorescence
Biao Chen, Wenhuan Huang, Hao Su, Hui Miao, Xuepeng Zhang, Guoqing Zhang
Abstract
Abstract Organic luminogens with persistent room‐temperature phosphorescence (RTP) have found a wide range of applications. However, many RTP luminogens are prone to severe quenching in the crystalline state. Herein, we report a strategy to construct a donor‐sp 3 ‐acceptor type luminogen that exhibits aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) while the donor‐sp 2 ‐acceptor counterpart structure exhibits a non‐emissive solid state. Unexpectedly, it was discovered that a trace amount (0.01 %) of the structurally similar derivative, produced by a side reaction with the DMF solvent, could induce strong RTP with an absolute RTP yield up to 25.4 % and a lifetime of 48 ms, although the substance does not show RTP by itself. Single‐crystal XRD‐based calculations suggest that n–σ* orbital interactions as a result of structural similarity may be responsible for the strong RTP in the bicomponent system. This study provides a new insight into the design of multi‐component, solid‐state RTP materials from organic molecular systems.