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Proton‐Activated “Off–On” Room‐Temperature Phosphorescence from Purely Organic Thioethers
Author(s) -
Huang Linkun,
Chen Biao,
Zhang Xuepeng,
Trindle Carl O.,
Liao Fan,
Wang Yucai,
Miao Hui,
Luo Yi,
Zhang Guoqing
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
angewandte chemie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1521-3757
pISSN - 0044-8249
DOI - 10.1002/ange.201808861
Subject(s) - phosphorescence , fluorescence , chemistry , photochemistry , quenching (fluorescence) , molecule , acceptor , phosphorescent organic light emitting diode , proton , chemical physics , organic chemistry , condensed matter physics , physics , quantum mechanics
Room‐temperature phosphorescence (RTP)‐based sensors have distinctive advantages over the fluorescence counterparts, such as larger Stokes shifts and longer lifetimes. Unfortunately, almost all RTP sensors are operated on quenching‐based mechanisms given the sensitive nature of the emissive triplet state. Here we report a type of thioether RTP molecules that shows RTP “turn‐on” when volatile acid vapors such as HCl are in contact. To elucidate the underlying mechanism, model thioethers containing different donor/acceptor combinations are investigated via fluorescence spectroscopy and theoretical calculations aided by molecular coordinates obtained from single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction. It is revealed that a charge‐transfer character in the phosphorescence state is crucial. The “turn‐on” design concept may significantly broaden the sensing application scope for organic RTP molecules.