Significantly Enhanced Afterglow Brightness via Intramolecular Energy Transfer

Afterglow
materials with long-lived emission after ceasing the
excitation source have exhibited tremendous potential for various
applications. However, the inherently dim afterglow emission makes
it a bottleneck for wider applications. Herein, we present an intramolecular
energy transfer strategy for enhancing the afterglow brightness by
covalently coupling of afterglow substrate unit and afterglow emitter
unit. Compared to the conventional intermolecular energy transfer
system, the afterglow intensity of our developed system based on intramolecular
energy transfer shows an over 100-fold enhancement. Furthermore, we
demonstrate the generality of this strategy for improving afterglow
brightness, which is applicable to different afterglow materials including
green, yellow, and red emissions. We believe that this strategy to
enhance afterglow intensity will provide a major step forward for
developing afterglow luminescent materials with high brightness.