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Phosphorescence resonance energy transfer from purely organic supramolecular assembly

Nature Reviews Chemistry volume 7, pages 854–874 (2023)Cite this article

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Abstract

Phosphorescence energy transfer systems have been applied in encryption, biomedical imaging and chemical sensing. These systems exhibit ultra-large Stokes shifts, high quantum yields and are colour-tuneable with long-wavelength afterglow fluorescence (particularly in the near-infrared) under ambient conditions. This review discusses triplet-to-singlet PRET or triplet-to-singlet-to-singlet cascaded PRET systems based on macrocyclic or assembly-confined purely organic phosphorescence introducing the critical toles of supramolecular noncovalent interactions in the process. These interactions promote intersystem crossing, restricting the motion of phosphors, minimizing non-radiative decay and organizing donor–acceptor pairs in close proximity. We discuss the applications of these systems and focus on the challenges ahead in facilitating their further development.

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Fig. 1: Simplified Jablonski diagram illustrating the PRET or cascaded PRET process owing to macrocyclic confinement and assembly confinement.
Fig. 2: Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-mediated solid-state supramolecular assemblies for PRET by direct doping.
Fig. 3: Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-mediated solid-state supramolecular assemblies for PRET through covalent B–O bonds.
Fig. 4: Alternate rigid polymer matrix-mediated solid-state supramolecular assemblies for PRET.
Fig. 5: Copolymerization-constructed solid-state supramolecular assemblies for PRET.
Fig. 6: Amphiphilic macrocyclic cascaded assemblies for PRET.
Fig. 7: Polymer-based co-assemblies for PRET.
Fig. 8: Supramolecular hydrogels for PRET.

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Acknowledgements

We thank National Natural Science Foundation of China (22131008) for the financial support.

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  1. These authors contributed equally: Xian-Yin Dai, Man Huo.

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  1. State Key Laboratory of Elemento-Organic Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Nankai University, Tianjin, P. R. China

    Xian-Yin Dai, Man Huo & Yu Liu

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X.-Y.D. and M.H. contributed equally to this work. Y.L. revised the manuscript and conceived the overall orientation of the manuscript. All authors contributed to the discussion and editing of the manuscript before submission.

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Dai, XY., Huo, M. & Liu, Y. Phosphorescence resonance energy transfer from purely organic supramolecular assembly. Nat Rev Chem 7, 854–874 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41570-023-00555-1

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