Room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP)
The modularity and simple synthesis of the multiple-donors(4)-acceptor (D4-A) systems allowed us to develop two different types of RTP systems starting from two different acceptor materials. The first system consists of phenoxy-phthalonitrile that exhibit biluminescence via fluorescence and persistent-green-RTP at ambient conditions in the amorphous state. We have established that the exciplex formation can optimize the singlet (S1)-triplet (T1) energy gap, and both increased rigidity and aggregation can lead to persistent-green afterglow due to stabilization of the triplet states. We used these conjugates in data security applications uncovering a new of achieving document protection in the amorphous sate. We intend to take advantage of these conjugates in bio-imaging and photodynamic therapy applications, and develop them into phosphorescence switches for anti-counterfeiting applications.
The second family of biluminescence emitters that we developed Invisible Ink were obtained by using terephthalonitrile acceptor with similar functionalised donors. These conjugates emit white-light via dual fluorescence and white phosphorescence. The focus with this family is their development into white phosphores that can be used in invisible ink and document counterfeiting applications.
