Recent advances in the development of phenothiazine and its fluorescent derivatives for optoelectronic applications

Phenothiazine is one of the most extensively investigated aromatic compounds owing to its unique optical and electronic properties, low cost, and easy functionalization. In recent years, phenothiazine and its derivatives have provided a versatile platform for developing materials with wide range of applications. The electron-rich sulfur and nitrogen atoms make phenothiazine a stronger electron donor and its non-planar butterfly shaped bent structure sufficiently suppresses the molecules to form aggregates. In this review, we discuss the recent advances in the development of phenothiazine-based fluorescent materials for applications in various fields. We highlight prominent examples of phenothiazine-based materials that have been effectively exploited in applications such as mechanochromism, aggregation-induced emission, phosphorescence, and sensor probes. This review will pave the way for researchers to design and develop new phenothiazine functionalized materials and use them for various optoelectronic applications.