Functional Roles of Polymers in Room‐Temperature Phosphorescent Materials: Modulation of Intersystem Crossing, Air Sensitivity and Biological Activity

Abstract

AbstractOrganic room‐temperature phosphorescent (RTP) materials routinely incorporate polymeric components, which usually act as non‐functional or “inert” media to protect excited‐state phosphors from thermal and collisional quenching, but are lesser explored for other influences. Here, we report some exemplary “active roles” of polymer matrices played in organic RTP materials, including: 1) color modulation of total delayed emissions via balancing the population ratio between thermally‐activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) and RTP due to dielectric‐dependent intersystem crossing; 2) altered air sensitivity of RTP materials by generating various surface morphologies such as nano‐sized granules; 3) enhanced bacterial elimination for enhanced electrostatic interactions with negatively charged bio‐membranes. These active roles demonstrated that the vast library of polymeric structures and functionalities can be married to organic phosphors to broaden new application horizons for RTP materials.