Clusterization-triggered
emission (CTE) of nonconventional chromophores
has recently attracted increased interest for its synergetic photophysical
properties and promising applications, such as optical anticounterfeiting,
white-light emission devices, or molecular sensing. Many studies have
been conducted on pure organic clusteroluminogens (CLgens), but very
few have explored organic–inorganic hybrid (OIH) materials.
This work deals with optical properties of a new OIH compound (TET)
2
[Pb
4
Cl
16
] (TET =
N
,
N
′-bis(2-aminoethyl)-1,3-propanediamine (C
7
N
4
H
24
)), which presents an unprecedented two-dimensional
perovskitoid structure formed by strongly distorted [Pb
4
Cl
16
] layers of corner and edge-sharing [PbCl
6
] octahedra, separated by TET tetra-ammonium cations. Under UV–visible
excitations, (TET)
2
[Pb
4
Cl
16
] exhibits
white-light emission, tunable excitation-wavelength-dependent emission,
and green afterglow room temperature phosphorescence (RTP) lasting
for more than 0.63 s, all of which are direct signatures of CTE. The
optical interpretations are supported by density functional theory
(DFT) calculations of the band structure. Two mechanisms are involved
in the emission process: resonant energy transfer (RET) between the
organic and the inorganic components, and clusteroluminescence (CL)
governed by a rigid conformation of the organic cations and extended
electron delocalization over supramolecular organic clusters confined
within the interlayer spacing. The different features of CLgens in
(TET)
2
[Pb
4
Cl
16
] are discussed, and
the role of the organic nonconjugated molecule in the emission process
is emphasized.