Zhipeng Zhao, Rui Du, Xiaodi Feng, Zhengshuo Wang, Tianjie Wang, Zongzhao Xie, Hua Yuan, Yeqiang Tan and Hanlin Ou* Pages 1 - 21 ( 21 )
Afterglow materials with organic room temperature phosphorescence (RTP) or thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) exhibit significant potential in biological imaging due to their long lifetime. By utilizing time-resolved technology, interference from biological tissue fluorescence can be mitigated, enabling high signal-- to-background ratio imaging. Despite the continued emergence of individual reports on RTP or TADF in recent years, comprehensive reviews addressing these two materials are rare. Therefore, this review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of several typical molecular designs for organic RTP and TADF materials. It also explores the primary methods through which triplet excitons resist quenching by water and oxygen. Furthermore, we analyze the principal challenges faced by afterglow materials and discuss key directions for future research with the hope of inspiring developments in afterglow imaging.
afterglow bioimaging,room temperature phosphorescence,thermally activated delayed fluorescence,triplet excited states,intersystem crossing,reverse intersystem crossing