Thermally Regulated Multistate Emission through Integrated Excited-State Engineering in Organic Luminophores

Organic luminescent materials with multistate responsiveness to external stimuli are of growing interest for smart sensing, information encryption, and next-generation optoelectronic devices. However, achieving thermally tunable emission involving multiple excited-state mechanisms within a single molecule remains highly challenging. Here, we report a rationally designed donor–acceptor molecule, PTZT, that integrates aggregation-induced emission (AIE), thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF), and room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) into one solid-state system. By combining a rigid electron-deficient triazine acceptor with a twisted donor and fine-tuned intramolecular charge transfer (ICT), PTZT exhibits both a small singlet–triplet energy gap (ΔES-T) and n−π* character, enabling a thermally driven interplay between fluorescence, delayed fluorescence, and phosphorescence. Remarkably, PTZT shows a nonmonotonic, three-stage temperature-dependent luminescence evolution, resulting from the dynamic switching of dominant excited-state pathways. Comprehensive photophysical studies and exciton kinetics modeling reveal the underlying mechanism of this triple-emission behavior. Furthermore, nondoped OLEDs based on PTZT demonstrate favorable electroluminescent performance, underscoring its potential for practical application. This work offers a new molecular strategy for constructing multiresponsive organic emitters with programmable thermal behaviors.

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Publication Details

Journal
Crystal Growth & Design
Published
2025-09-04
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.cgd.5c00993
Primary Topic
Organic Light-Emitting Diodes Research
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Thermally Regulated Multistate Emission through Integrated Excited-State Engineering in Organic Luminophores

Zixuan Xu, Qin Guo, Shasha Wu
Crystal Growth & Design
Organic Light-Emitting Diodes Research
article

Thermally Regulated Multistate Emission through Integrated Excited-State Engineering in Organic Luminophores

Zixuan Xu, Qin Guo, Shasha Wu
article en

Abstract

Organic luminescent materials with multistate responsiveness to external stimuli are of growing interest for smart sensing, information encryption, and next-generation optoelectronic devices. However, achieving thermally tunable emission involving multiple excited-state mechanisms within a single molecule remains highly challenging. Here, we report a rationally designed donor–acceptor molecule, PTZT, that integrates aggregation-induced emission (AIE), thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF), and room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) into one solid-state system. By combining a rigid electron-deficient triazine acceptor with a twisted donor and fine-tuned intramolecular charge transfer (ICT), PTZT exhibits both a small singlet–triplet energy gap (ΔES-T) and n−π* character, enabling a thermally driven interplay between fluorescence, delayed fluorescence, and phosphorescence. Remarkably, PTZT shows a nonmonotonic, three-stage temperature-dependent luminescence evolution, resulting from the dynamic switching of dominant excited-state pathways. Comprehensive photophysical studies and exciton kinetics modeling reveal the underlying mechanism of this triple-emission behavior. Furthermore, nondoped OLEDs based on PTZT demonstrate favorable electroluminescent performance, underscoring its potential for practical application. This work offers a new molecular strategy for constructing multiresponsive organic emitters with programmable thermal behaviors.

Crystal Growth & DesignVol. 25(18)
Shanxi Medical University (CN), Precision for Medicine (United States) (US), First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University (CN), Shanxi Academy of Medical Sciences (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China
Openalex Percentile: Top 77%
Organic Light-Emitting Diodes Research
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Thermally Regulated Multistate Emission through Integrated Excited-State Engineering in Organic Luminophores — Zixuan Xu, Qin Guo, et al. · Crystal Growth & Design (2025) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS