Smart phosphorescence from solid to water through progressive assembly strategy based on dual phosphorescent sources

Developing smart room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) materials with facile and efficient strategies have attracted increasing attention. Herein, tunable RTP materials with two phosphorescent sources and stepwise enhanced phosphorescence in water are obtained through an in-situ self-assembly strategy based on the sensitization of phosphors by trimesic acid (TMA) through simple doping and the rigidification of phosphors by hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks (HOFs). As expected, doped TMA+phosphors simultaneously promote the RTP emission of phosphors and maintain TMA phosphorescence. In-situ assembled HOF(MA-TMA)@phosphors facilitate smart RTP emission in water due to the coexistence of phosphorescent HOF(MA-TMA) host and phosphors guest. Additionally, such RTP materials with good processability demonstrate the application potential in information security, benefitting from their varied afterglow lifetimes and easy luminous recognition in the darkness. This work will inspire the design of dual phosphorescent source RTP systems and provide new strategies for the development of smart RTP materials in water.