Recent Advances in Narrowband Organic Afterglow Materials

doi:10.6023/cjoc202505030

Abstract

Organic afterglow materials have shown great potential for applications in high-resolution display, information encryption, bioimaging, etc. However, traditional organic afterglow materials typically exhibit broad emission spectra with full widths at half maximum (FWHMs) ranging from 70 nm to 100 nm, resulting in low color purity and limiting their potential in high-resolution optical applications. In recent years, researchers have successfully achieved long-lived excited states and narrowband emission (FWHM<50 nm) through innovative material design and photophysical modulation, thereby enhancing the color purity of organic afterglow materials. The development of narrowband organic afterglow materials has progressed rapidly, yet a systematic review is still elusive in this field. This review summarizes the design strategies for narrowband organic afterglow materials based on the following three photophysical mechanisms: room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP), delayed fluorescence (DF), and energy transfer (ET). The recent research advances are comprehensively reviewed, and the perspective on future development of this emerging field is provided.

Key words: narrowband, color purity, afterglow, photophysical properties, organic luminescent materials

Cite this article

Yang Xia, Kai-Yin Ren, Xiao-Ye Wang. Recent Advances in Narrowband Organic Afterglow Materials[J]. Chinese Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2025, 45(11): 4026-4036.

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Fig. & Tab. 11

Figure 1. Photophysical mechanisms of organic narrowband afterglow materials

Figure 2. (a) Structures of 1a~1c; (b) single-crystal structure of 1c; (c) delayed emission spectra of 1c with different concentration doped HEA-AA[24]

Figure 3. (a) Structures of 2a, 2b and 2c; (b) steady-state and delayed emission spectra of 2b in the matrix; (c) delayed emission spectra of 2b in the matrix at different temperature[47]

Figure 4. (a) Structures of 3a~3d; (b) the HOMO-LUMO distributions diagram of 3b; (c) the absorption and steady-state emission spectra of 3b in the solution and steady-state and delayed emission spectra of 3b in the matrix; (d) delayed emission spectra of 3b in the matrix at different temperature[49]

Figure 5. (a) Structures of 4a~4h; (b) Steady-state and delayed emission spectra of 4a~4h in the matrix[50]

Figure 6. (a) Structures of 5a~5e; (b) Absorption of 5a and steady-state emission spectra of the matrix; (c) Time-resolved photoluminescence spectra of energy donor with different concentration; (d) Delayed emission spectra and photographs of multi-color narrowband afterglow films[58]

Figure 7. (a) Structures of 6a~6c; (b) Steady-state and delayed emission spectra of 6a; (c) Chromaticity coordinate of fluorescence and delayed fluorescence of 6a[59]

Figure 8. (a) Structures of 7a~7e; (b) Absorption of 7d, 7c, 7a, 7e and steady-state and delayed emission spectra of gCLA; (c) Delayed emission spectra of multi-color narrowband afterglow[60]

Figure 9. (a) Afterglow display structure and patterns[59]; (b) Original images, afterglow images, computer-processed images and illustration for high-resolution afterglow grayscale imaging[61]

Figure 10. Design of the combinational encryption device using narrowband and broadband organic afterglow materials[60]

Figure 11. Flexible organic afterglow optical waveguide fiber[60]

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