Issue 44, 2023

Revisiting organic charge-transfer cocrystals for wide-range tunable, ambient phosphorescence

Abstract

Simple and efficient designs that enable a wide range of phosphorescence emission in organic materials have ignited scientific interest across diverse fields. One particularly promising approach is the cocrystallization strategy, where organic cocrystals are ingeniously formed through relatively weaker and dynamic non-covalent interactions. In our present study, we push the boundaries further by extending this cocrystal strategy to incorporate donor–acceptor components, stabilized by various halogen bonding interactions. This non-covalent complexation triggers ambient, charge-transfer phosphorescence (3CT), which can be precisely tuned across a broad spectrum by a modular selection of components with distinct electronic characteristics. At the core of our investigation lies the electron-deficient phosphor, pyromellitic diimide, which, upon complexation with different donors based on their electron-donating strength, manifests a striking array of phosphorescence emission from CT triplet states, spanning from green to yellow to reddish orange accompanied by noteworthy quantum yields. Through a systematic exploration of the electronic properties using spectroscopic studies and molecular organization through single-crystal X-ray diffraction, we decisively establish the molecular origin of the observed phosphorescence. Notably, our work presents, for the first time, an elegant demonstration of tunable 3CT phosphorescence emission in intermolecular donor–acceptor systems, highlighting their immense significance in the quest for efficient organic phosphors.

Graphical abstract: Revisiting organic charge-transfer cocrystals for wide-range tunable, ambient phosphorescence

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
01 Aug 2023
Accepted
23 Oct 2023
First published
31 Oct 2023
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Sci., 2023,14, 12548-12553

Revisiting organic charge-transfer cocrystals for wide-range tunable, ambient phosphorescence

A. A. Kongasseri, S. N. Ansari, S. Garain, S. M. Wagalgave and S. J. George, Chem. Sci., 2023, 14, 12548 DOI: 10.1039/D3SC04001A

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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