Issue 84, 2016

Tuning the thermo- and mechanoresponsive behavior of luminescent cyclophanes

Abstract

Many cyclophanes have been investigated in dilute solution, where their internal cavities are accessible for supramolecular interactions. However, their photophysical properties in the solid state remain largely unexplored. We here report a new mechano- and thermoresponsive luminescent cyclophane that is comprised of two 9,10-bis(phenylethynyl)anthracene moieties and features two hexaethylene glycol bridges. The compound was found to exhibit a nematic liquid-crystalline phase at elevated temperature. X-ray diffraction patterns confirm that thermal and mechanical treatments induce changes in the molecular assembly, which are the basis for the observed photoluminescent color variations. The stimuli-responsive behavior of the new compound is quite different from that of a previously reported cyclophane with similar structure but shorter bridges. Thus, merely changing the ring size is an effective tool to tailor the stimuli-responsiveness and the phase behaviour of luminescent cyclophanes.

Graphical abstract: Tuning the thermo- and mechanoresponsive behavior of luminescent cyclophanes

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
19 Jul 2016
Accepted
15 Aug 2016
First published
26 Aug 2016
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

RSC Adv., 2016,6, 80408-80414

Tuning the thermo- and mechanoresponsive behavior of luminescent cyclophanes

Y. Sagara, C. Weder and N. Tamaoki, RSC Adv., 2016, 6, 80408 DOI: 10.1039/C6RA18348D

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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