Organic Hollow Microstructures with Room Temperature Phosphorescence

Molecular self-assembly into hollow microstructures has great potential in catalysis, drug delivery, sensors, and nanoreactors. In contrast to well-studied fluorescent hollow microstructures, the assembly of phosphorescent hollow microstructures has not yet been fully demonstrated. Here, two types of hollow microstructures based on organic room temperature phosphorescence (RTP) materials are prepared through a convenient vapor-phase growth method. The observation of the assembly process and the calculations of surface energy reveal that thermodynamically driven Ostwald ripening process plays an essential role in the formation of tunable hollow structures. The universality of this growth technique for hollow microstructures is further demonstrated in various materials and even composites. Compared with non-hollow structures, the phosphorescent hollow microstructures exhibit high sensitivity to oxygen, indicating the potential of organic hollow microstructure with RTP.