Issue 5, 2022

Tricolor fluorescence switching in the three crystal polymorphs of tetraphenylethylene modified fluorenone AIEgen

Abstract

Stimuli-responsive organic materials with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics have become a research hot spot in recent years due to their promising applications in information storage, organic light-emitting semiconductors (OLEDs) and chemosensors. In this study, we employ the molecular design strategy of introducing multiple weak interactions (π–π stacking and hydrogen bonding) and twisted molecular structures into the same molecular system to synthesize a new stimuli-responsive solid-state fluorescence switching molecule, 2,7-bis(4-(1,2,2-triphenylvinyl)phenyl)-9H-fluoren-9-one (TFT), in which the fluorenone and tetraphenyl ethylene moieties are incorporated. By culturing the crystals under different crystallization conditions, three polymorphs of TFT, yellow crystals (Y-TFT), orange crystals (O-TFT) and red crystals (R-TFT), were obtained. All of the three crystals exhibit high luminous efficiency and stimuli-responsive fluorescence switching under the stimuli of temperature, pressure, or solvent vapor. X-Ray single crystal structures, characterization of photophysical properties, powder X-ray diffraction, and theoretical calculations provide in-depth understanding of their phase transition and luminescence behaviors. The different emissions of the three crystal polymorphs originate from the molecular pairs (dimers), molecular layers, and single molecules, respectively. This study presents molecular-level understanding of the relationship between the organic molecular packing characteristics and the resulting optical properties. The simple-preparation, high luminescence efficiency and manageable, reversible tricolor fluorescence switching give TFT the potential to be a ‘‘smart’’ multifunctional luminescence material. In addition, this work also presents a design strategy for smart organic fluorescence switching molecules.

Graphical abstract: Tricolor fluorescence switching in the three crystal polymorphs of tetraphenylethylene modified fluorenone AIEgen

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Research Article
Submitted
19 Nov 2021
Accepted
04 Jän 2022
First published
07 Jän 2022

Mater. Chem. Front., 2022,6, 613-622

Tricolor fluorescence switching in the three crystal polymorphs of tetraphenylethylene modified fluorenone AIEgen

B. Zhang, J. Jiang, W. Wang, Q. Tu, R. Yu, J. Wang and M. Yuan, Mater. Chem. Front., 2022, 6, 613 DOI: 10.1039/D1QM01532J

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements