Studies of cyclodextrin-enhanced room-temperature phosphorescence

The enhancement of room-temperature phosphorescence by α-, β- and γ-cyclodextrins in the presence of heavy atoms is described for p-aminobenzoic acid, anthracene and six of its derivatives, dibenzofuran and some other compounds. The sensitivity can be improved by treating the filter paper substrate with the cyclodextrin (preferably β-cyclodextrin) or by mixing the analyte with β-cyclodextrin prior to sample spotting on the substrate.     

Some aspects of room-temperature phosphorescence in liquid solutions

Experimental requirements for room-temperature phosphorescence measurements in liquids (RTPL) are discussed. Phosphorescence quantum yields and triplet lifetimes of some brominated naphthalenes and halogenated biphenyls at 77 K in 2-methyltetrahydrofuran and at room temperature in hexane are reported and compared. Surprisingly the naphthalenes show only little loss in quantum yields in going from 77 K to room temperature. Sensitized phosphorescence is discussed as a means of expanding the analytical potential of RTPL. Results with a model system of benzophenone as a donor (analyte) and 1,4-dibromonaphthalene as an acceptor are presented.     

The effect of sample environment on the room-temperature phosphorescence of several polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons

Room-temperature phosphorescence (r.t.p.) of numerous molecules has been studied with emphasis on several polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). The heavy atom effect has led to a significant enhancement of r.t.p. signals for the PAH studied with the trend being Tl⁺ > Ag⁺ > Pb²⁺ > Hg²⁺. The Tl⁺ also resulted in enhanced spectral features of emission bands. R.t.p. could be induced from PAH on a sodium acetate sample support as well as on filter paper. A study of the effect of different gaseous environments provided anomalous results.     

Nature of the room-temperature phosphorescence of cyclodextrin-aromatic compound complexes in water

The lifetime of the room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) of ß-cyclodextrinphenanthrene-chloroform complexes in water at 274 K increases from 1.7 to 2.3 s as the concentration of chloroform increases from 2.5 · 10^–3 to 0.125 mol L^–1. This dependence is explained by the formation of insoluble aggregates possessing RTP.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 4, pp. 1014–1015, April, 1996.     

Effects of polyacrylic acid on the room-temperature phosphorescence of selected compounds

Polyacrylic acid solutions of 4-phenylphenol, p-aminobenzoic acid, 1,2-benzocarbazole, and 5,6-benzoquinoline were spotted on filter paper and the results obtained by room-temperature phosphorescence were compared with similar samples spotted on filter paper without polyacrylic acid. Improvements in sensitivity ranged from 26 times to 1.1 times and limits of detection from 100 times to 1.1 times for the samples on filter paper with polyacrylic acid. The relative standard deviations for the samples with polyacrylic acid added were also improved.     

Fluorescence and liquid room-temperature phosphorescence of the aluminium-ferron chelate in vesicles

In order to evaluate the analytical potential of vesicles for enhancing the room-temperature luminescence of metal chelates, the photoluminescence emission of the aluminium-ferron complex in vesicular solutions was examined. The presence of vesicles of didodecyldimethylammonium bromide produced a six-fold enhancement in the fluorescence intensity of the metal chelate. Vesicles also proved to be efficient stabilizers to obtain analytically useful liquid room-temperature phosphorescence for aluminium. Optimum experimental conditions and luminescence characteristics of the aluminium complex in the presence of vesicles are described and compared with those obtained for the same chelate in micellar media. As a result, a vesicle-enhanced fluorimetric procedure is proposed which has been successfully applied to the determination of low levels of aluminium in milk powders.     

Converting molecular luminescence to ultralong room-temperature phosphorescence via the excited state modulation of sulfone-containing heteroaromatics

Manipulating the molecular orbital properties of excited states and the subsequent relaxation processes can greatly alter the emission behaviors of luminophores. Herein we report a vivid example of this, with luminescence conversion from thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) to ultralong room-temperature phosphorescence (URTP) via a facile substituent effect on a rigid benzothiazino phenothiazine tetraoxide (BTPO) core. Pristine BTPO with multiple heteroatoms shows obvious intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) excited states with small exchange energy, featuring TADF. Via delicately functionalizing the BTPO core with peripheral moieties, the excited states of the BTPO derivatives become a hybridized local and charge transfer (HLCT) state in the S₁ state and a local excitation (LE) dominated HLCT state in the T₁ state, with enlarged energy bandgaps. Upon dispersion in a polymer matrix, the BTPO derivatives exhibit a persistent bright green afterglow with long lifetimes of up to 822 ms and decent quantum yields of up to 11.6%.

The decoration of a BTPO core results in a change in the luminescence nature from TADF to URTP. The phosphors in an amorphous PMMA matrix showed monomeric URTP with phosphorescence lifetimes of up to 822 ms and quantum yields of up to 11.6%.     

The effect of pH on the room-temperature phosphorescence properties of several purine and pyrimidine derivatives

Room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) spectra of eleven purines and pyrimidines adsorbed on Whatman No. 40 filter paper have been determined in acidic, neutral and basic media. RTP excitation and emission wavelengths do not vary significantly with pH. For most compounds, use of basic (pH approximately 13) solutions yields stronger RTP signals than use of neutral or acidic (pH approximately 1.6) solutions. Exceptions are adenine, theobromine and theophylline, which give larger RTP signals when in neutral than in basic conditions. The existence of differences in phosphorescence quantum yields between the various ionic species as well as of specific pH-related interactions with the substrate is discussed. Absolute limits of detection, ranging between 0.4 and 38 ng for selected compounds, depend on the pH of the analyte solution.     

An evaluation of cellulose as a substrate for room-temperature phosphorescence

Cotton-linter pulps, wood pulps and several filter papers have been evaluated as substrates for room-temperature phosphorescence. A variety of chemical treatments of one filter paper is discussed in terms of reducing the background phosphorescence of the cellulose and in evaluating possible trace contaminants in cotton fibres. In order to account for uniformity of filter paper used in room temperature phosphorescence, a final evaluation of several different lots of one type of filter paper is presented.     

Photo-controllable room-temperature phosphorescence of organic photochromic polymers based on hexaarylbiimidazole

Pure organic room-temperature phosphorescent(RTP) materials have been attracting widespread attention due to the unique properties and broad applications. However, RTP materials with the adjustable photochromic property are still a challenge.Based on this, two polymers containing hexaarylbiimidazole are strategically designed with dual emission of both fluorescence and phosphorescence. Furthermore, both polymers show sensitive photochromic responses from faint yellow to brown upon exposure to ultraviolet light. This study can enrich pure organic luminescent systems and provide new ideas for functional RTP materials.     

Crystallization induced room-temperature phosphorescence and chiral photoluminescence properties of phosphoramides

We report the design and synthesis of a series of room temperature phosphorescent phosphoramides TPTZPO, TPTZPS, and TPTZPSe with a donor (phenothiazine)–acceptor (P = X, X = O, S, and Se) architecture. All the compounds show structureless fluorescence with a nanosecond lifetime in dilute solutions. However, these compounds show dual fluorescence and room temperature phosphorescence (RTP) in the solid state. Both the intensity and energy of luminescence depend on the heteroatom attached to the phosphorus center. For example, compound TPTZPO with the P O unit exhibits fluorescence at a higher energy region than TPTZPS and TPTZPSe with the P S and P Se groups, respectively. Crystalline samples of TPTZPO, TPTZPS, and TPTZPSe show stronger RTP than the amorphous powder of respective compounds. Detailed steady-state, time-resolved photoluminescence and computational studies established that the ³n–π* state dominated by the phenothiazine moiety is the emissive state of these compounds. Although TPTZPS and TPTZPSe crystallized in the chiral space group, only TPTZPSe showed chiroptical properties in the solid state. The luminescence dissymmetry factor (g_lum) value of TPTZPS is small and below the detection limit, and a CPL spectrum could not be observed for this compound.

The crystallization-induced room temperature phosphorescence and CPL of phosphoramides are reported. The nonplanar phenothiazine and the tetrahedral geometry of phosphorus curbed the non-radiative deactivation pathways, which led to improved RTP.     

Blue-to-green manipulation of carbon dots from fluorescence to ultralong room-temperature phosphorescence for high-level anti-counterfeiting

Carbon dots (CDs) with fluorescence (FL) and room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) optical properties have attracted dramatically growing interest in anti-counterfeiting application. Herein, color-tunable and stable FL and ultralong RTP (to naked eyes ~14 s) are successfully achieved in CDs system. Encoding information and patterns fabricated by directly screen-printing method are invisible to eyes under natural light. Interestingly, clear and multicolor patterns with tunable FL and RTP emissions are identified under the 365 nm, 395 nm and 465 nm excitation and removal of them, indicating potential application of carbon dots with different FL and RTP outputs in the high-level photonic anti-counterfeiting field.     

Spectral-kinetic relationships for the room-temperature phosphorescence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in micellar solutions

Lifetimes of triplet sates of molecules of different polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are measured in the system 0.1 M sodium dodecyl sulfate-0.025 M thallium nitrate-0.01 M sodium sulfite are measured, and the dependences of these quantities on the spectral luminescence characteristics are determined. Based on the obtained results, the application range of room-temperature phosphorimetry with time and spectral selection for the determination of individual polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in mixtures is determined.     

Influence of the alkyl side chain length on the room-temperature phosphorescence of organic copolymers

Pure organic room-temperature phosphorescence(RTP) materials have attracted wide attention owing to their excellent luminescent properties and great potential in various applications. In this work, iminostilbene and its analogues are applied to realize RTP emission by copolymerizing with acrylamide. It can be concluded that the growth of alkane chain in monomers can enhance the lifetime and photoluminescence quantum yield of RTP emission, and polymers with the larger conjugated structure of the ...     

The phosphorescence of 4h-pyran-4-thione: large quantum yields from room-temperature fluid solutions

The spectra, phosphorescence quantum yields and triplet lifetimes of 4H-pyran-4-thione (PT) in fluid solution at room temperature have been measured. In inert perfluoroalkane solvents at 293 K, the phosphorescence quantum yield of PT is 0.33 on excitation to S₂ and 0.47 on direct excitation to T₁. The reasons for these extremely large radiative yields are discussed.     

Generation of color-controllable room-temperature phosphorescence via luminescent center engineering and in-situ immobilization

Materials with controllable luminescence colors are highly desirable for numerous promising applications, however, the preparation of such materials, particularly with color-controllable room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP), remains a formidable challenge. In this work, we reported on a facile strategy to prepare color-controllable RTP materials via the pyrolysis of a mixture containing 1-(2-hydroxyethyl)-urea (H-urea) and boric acid (BA). By controlling the pyrolysis temperatures, the as-prepared materials exhibited ultralong RTP with emission colors ranging from cyan, green, to yellow. Further studies revealed that multiple luminescent centers formed from H-urea, which were in-situ embedded in the B₂O₃ matrix (produced from BA) during the pyrolysis process. The contents of the different luminescent centers could be regulated by the pyrolysis temperatures, resulting in color-tunable RTP. Significantly, the luminescent center engineering and in-situ immobilization strategy not only provided a facile method for conveniently preparing color-controllable RTP materials, but also endowed the materials prepared at relatively lower temperatures with color-changeable RTP features under thermal stimulus. Considering their unique properties, the potential applications of the as-obtained materials for advanced anti-counterfeiting and information encryption were preliminarily demonstrated.     

A comparative study of heavy-atom effects on the room-temperature phosphorescence of biologically important purines

Room-temperature phosphorescence (r.t.p.) of nine biologically important purines on filter paper is studied. The heavy-atom effect leads to a significant enhancement of r.t.p. signals, with the trend being Tl⁺ > Pb²⁺ ? I — ? Sm³⁺ for most purines. Absolute limits of detection range from 40 pg (purine) to 19 ng (theophylline).     

Fiber optic sensor for laser-induced room-temperature phosphorescence detection of polycyclic aromatic compounds

The development of a fiber optic sensor for the analysis of polycyclic aromatic compounds based on laser-induced room-termperature phosphorimetry is reported for the first time. A pulsed nitrogen laser was used to excite phosphorescence emission from compounds imbibed on filter-paper substrates. Thallium(I) acetate (0.1 M) was used to enhance phosphorescence emission from chrysene, 1,2-benzofluorene, 7,8-benzoquinoline, phenanthridine and 5,6-benzoquinoline. Lead(II) acetate (0.5 M) was employed for the determination of fluoranthene, which showed no phosphorescence signal on paper substrates pre-treated with thallium(I) acetate. Limits of detection at the ng/ml(-1) level were estimated for all the compounds. An improvement in the limits of detection of the nitrogen heterocyclic compounds was obtained by using a low-background paper substrate. Satisfactory reproducibility of measurements was observed, varying from 6.1% (chrysene) to 11.9% (7,8-benzoquinoline). The linear behavior of the sensor response was also evaluated. Linear dynamic ranges extend over two and three orders of magnitude and show the potential of the device for the quantitative analysis of environmental pollutants.     

Determination of thiabendazole in foods and waters by solid-phase transmitted room-temperature phosphorescence

A new method for the determination of thiabendazole (TBZ) is proposed, based on enhanced native phosphorescence at room temperature when the pesticide is fixed on paper and using Pb (CH₃-COO)₂ as the enhancer. The sample and enhancer solutions were deposited on a slip of paper (Whatman No. 4), previously humidified with pH 4.0 acetic/acetate buffer solution, after which the paper was dried and placed between two quartz plates. The diffuse transmitted phosphorescence intensity was measured directly at _ex = 303 nm and _em = 472 nm. The applicable concentration range was 160.0–1200.0 ng/ml, with a relative standard deviation of 1.2%. The detection and quantification limits were 47.7 and 158.9 ng/ml, respectively. This simple method was used to measure the levels of this pesticide in potatoes, green beans, lettuce and different types of waters, showing good selectivity in all instances.     

Optimization of the room-temperature phosphorescence of the 6-bromo-2-naphthol-alpha-cyclodextrin system in aqueous solution

The influence of different factors on the room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) emission from the inclusion complex between alpha-cyclodextrin (alpha-CD) and 6-bromo-2-naphthol (BN) was analyzed. Although RTP signals are detected even in aerated solutions, an efficient enhancement of the phosphorescence emission (about 13 times) is obtained when the solutions of the complex are deaerated with nitrogen bubbling, while quenching is produced when sodium sulfite is used for deoxygenation. Association constants of the 1:1 and 2:1 alpha-CD-BN complexes have been evaluated by molecular absorption and fluorimetric methods. Exciting at 287 nm, the RTP phosphorescence emission showed two maxima located at 500 and 535 nm and a shoulder at 577 nm. The RTP emission increases with the irradiation time of the sample by the xenon lamp of the fluorimeter, until it achieves a constant value after around 10 min of irradiation. The addition of organic molecules such as alcohols and bromoalcohols as a third component of the system produces an enhancement of the RTP emission smaller than that obtained in the absence of them. The calibration graph for BN was linear for the range of concentrations between 0.4 and 2.0 mug ml(-1) with a detection limit of 0.26 mug ml(-1), with relative standard deviation (RSD) (n=6) of 4%, for 1.6 mug ml(-1). The solution was transparent, and there was no precipitation.