Natural polysaccharide-based room-temperature phosphorescence materials: Designs, properties, and applications

Organic room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) materials have garnered extensive attention owing to their long-lived excited states, low cost, good processability, and promising applications in domains such as anti-counterfeiting and information encryption, afterglow displays, biological imaging, and sensing. However, most current organic RTP materials are derived from artificial phosphors and petroleum-based polymers, hindering their practical applications owing to issues such as complicated synthesis and purification procedures, poor colour tunability, and lack of renewability and sustainability. Fortunately, the conversion of natural polysaccharides to RTP materials can address the issues. In this review, we summarize the recent advancements in natural polysaccharide-based RTP materials, including their design principles, underlying mechanisms, advanced luminescence characteristics, and potential applications. Special emphasis is placed on representative natural polysaccharide-based RTP systems exhibiting remarkable properties rarely observed in artificial phosphors. The discussion also focuses on intrinsic structure–performance relationships and outlines key challenges and perspectives for future development in this intriguing field. Overall, this review aims to detail guidelines and provide inspiration for the development of eco-friendly polysaccharide-based RTP materials, shedding new light on the high-value utilization of natural polysaccharides.