From aggregation-induced emission to organic room temperature phosphorescence through suppression of molecular vibration

With the rapid development of aggregation-induced emission (AIE), the principles of AIE have also been shown to stimulate the design of organic room temperature phosphorescence (RTP). Without reverting to heavy covalent synthesis, suppression of the molecular vibration of most AIE molecules containing hybrid atoms is a general strategy leading to RTP. The suppression protocols focus on improving the physical environment of the phosphors, which can be achieved by various noncovalent interactions, as well as physical space confinement. In this review, the following processes are summarized: (1) RTP facilitated by classical host-guest interaction; (2) RTP in non-classical host-guest systems; (3) RTP facilitated by polymer network, including the suppression of the vibration via covalent interaction, noncovalent interaction, physical space confinement, or clusterization of the polymer chains; and (4) RTP in small molecules/simple ions. Finally, a perspective is provided to envision future trends in development of RTP.