Room‐temperature phosphorescence from organic materials in aqueous media

Abstract

In recent years, organic materials with room‐temperature phosphorescence (RTP) features have gained significant attention due to their wide applications in the fields of bioimaging, light‐harvesting materials, encryption technology, etc. Although several examples of organic RTP materials in the crystalline state and polymer‐based systems have been reported in the last decade or so, achieving organic RTP in the solution phase, particularly in the aqueous phase has remained a challenging task. Herein in this review, we summarize the progress in this direction by highlighting design strategies based on supramolecular scaffolding and host–guest complexation and the applications of such aqueous organic RTP materials in bioimaging, sensing, etc.