The Journey to Precious-metal-free Organic Phosphors from Single-Benzene-cored Fluorophores

This article takes a look back over our research on the development of organic fluorophores that efficiently emit light in the solid state and precious-metal-free phosphors that emit light at room temperature. In particular, we place an emphasis on the prehistory of each project and the relationship between the established molecular designs. Our story starts from the serendipitous discovery of a luminophore with a single benzene core and follows the molecular design and characterization of 2,5-dipiperidyl-1,4-bis(acceptor-substituted ethenyl)benzenes that exhibit solid-state fluorescence with high-to-excellent quantum yields in the blue-to-red region. In addition, the design concepts, luminescence characteristics, and applications of eight novel classes of fluorophores are described, and the discovery, design, and luminescent properties of precious-metal-free compounds that show efficient room-temperature phosphorescence are presented.

Automated summary

This article reviews the research on organic fluorophores and precious-metal-free phosphors, highlighting the prehistory of each project and the relationship between established molecular designs. It describes the design concepts, luminescence characteristics, and applications of various fluorophores, as well as the discovery, design, and luminescent properties of precious-metal-free compounds showing efficient room-temperature phosphorescence.