A gelable pure organic luminogen with fluorescence-phosphorescence dual emission

Pure organic luminogens with room temperature phosphorescence (RTP) have drawn much attention due to their fundamental importance and promising applications in optoelectronic devices, bioimaging, sensing, etc. Fluorescence-phosphorescence dual emission at room temperature, however, is rarely observed in pure organic materials. Herein, we reported a metal- and heavy-atom free pure organic luminogen with tert-butyl groups, DtBuCZBP, which is ready to form organogels in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO). It emits prompt and delayed fluorescence, as well as RTP, namely dual emission in as-prepared solid, gels and polymeric films. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first example of metal- and heavy-atom free pure organic gelator with RTP emission. Such unique RTP and moreover dual emission properties in different states make DtBuCZBP a potential material for diverse applications.