Room-temperature phosphorescent carbon dots (RTP-CDs) represent an emerging class of luminescent nanomaterials with vast potential in analytical science. However, their practical application is often limited by the susceptibility of triplet excitons to quenching by molecular oxygen, moisture, and other environmental factors, which typically restricts strong phosphorescence to rigid or deoxygenated matrices. To address this critical issue, silica matrices have been identified as an ideal host material. Their inherent rigid structure, excellent chemical stability, and highly tailorable surface properties provide an effective protective confinement for CDs. This rigid confinement effectively suppresses molecular vibrations and blocks the diffusion of quenchers, thereby significantly prolonging the lifetime of the phosphorescence. This confinement not only shields the triplet states from non-radiative decay pathways but also promotes efficient intersystem crossing and stable phosphorescence emission. Consequently, silica confinement successfully bridges the gap, enabling both intense solid-state phosphorescence and good dispersibility in aqueous environments. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the recent advances in silica-confined CD-based RTP materials. It begins by systematically elucidating the fundamental design strategies, including in-situ synthesis, post-embedding, and surface functionalization methods, alongside the underlying photophysical mechanisms responsible for the enhanced and stabilized RTP. This unique combination of properties unlocks a wide spectrum of advanced analytical applications. The core of the article focuses on their innovative integrated applications, demonstrating their utility in dynamic anti-counterfeiting with multi-level encryption, highly selective sensing of ions and small molecules, time-gated bioimaging for enhanced signal-to-noise ratio, and high-contrast fingerprint recognition for forensic science. Despite significant progress, challenges remain in quantum yields, achieving target-specific selectivity, and ensuring long-term biocompatibility. Future development is directed towards the strategic convergence of these materials with advanced analytical paradigms, such as time-gated detection systems, ratiometric and multi-channel signaling, and multimodal imaging platforms. This synergistic integration is actively driving the field of analytical chemistry toward smarter, more portable devices and integrated theranostic systems, opening new frontiers for precise detection and visualization.

Key words: silica confinement, carbon dot room-temperature phosphorescence, triplet excitons, luminescence mechanism, multifunctional analytical applications