Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence under Confinement in a Supramolecular Cage

Current state-of-the-art light-emitting molecules are based on thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) dyes that have a structurally crowded and sterically hindered donor–acceptor architecture. TADF dyes are expensive, structurally complex, prone to aggregation-induced emission quenching, and the stability of especially blue emitters remains low. 

FLUOROCAGE aims to solve these issues and take a step towards next-generation light-emitting devices by confining the donor and acceptor building blocks of TADF dyes as heterodimers inside a water-soluble supramolecular cage, resulting in a highly emissive platform with modular tunability. The water-solubility of the supramolecular confined emitters reduces the environmental impact of device fabrication. The project aims to decouple TADF emission from the complex structural architecture, leading to a paradigm shift in the design of stable organic emitters.