Issue 23, 2023

Recent advances in photoresponsive fluorescent materials based on [2+2] photocycloaddition reactions

Abstract

The development of light responsive fluorescent materials with nondestructive and high-contrast signaling properties has attracted much attention due to their potential use in a variety of areas, such as optical sensing, data storage, smart display, and advanced anti-counterfeiting. In general, most light responsive fluorescent materials are built on intramolecular Z/E photoisomerisation and photocyclisation of a single molecule, making them more suitable for solution-based systems due to the aggregation-caused quenching effect. Recent advances demonstrated that intermolecular [2+2] photocycloaddition reactions could be exploited to construct a new class of light responsive fluorescent materials whose solid-state fluorescence can be dramatically photoactivated. Such a conversion of solid-state emission from quenched to enhanced emission provides a promising solution to overcome the notorious aggregation-caused quenching effect, making these smart molecules more suitable for surface/interface-involved applications. This review systematically summarized recent advances in photoresponsive fluorescent molecules based on intermolecular [2+2] photocycloaddition reactions. The molecules were classified into four groups based on their molecular skeletons: diarylethenes, cyanodiarylethenes, benzoheterocycles, and diaryl acetylenes. We highlighted the structural design of these smart molecules, controlled molecular aggregation in different environments, including ordered crystals, disordered polymers, order-dependent liquid crystals, and caves of specific supramolecules, and their distinct photoactivation mechanisms of solid-state fluorescence. Finally, we analyse the challenges and opportunities for the future development of light responsive fluorescent materials based on intermolecular [2+2] photocycloaddition as a promising class of smart materials.

Graphical abstract: Recent advances in photoresponsive fluorescent materials based on [2+2] photocycloaddition reactions

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
23 апр. 2023
Accepted
15 мај 2023
First published
19 мај 2023

J. Mater. Chem. C, 2023,11, 7510-7525

Recent advances in photoresponsive fluorescent materials based on [2+2] photocycloaddition reactions

X. Ping, J. Pan, X. Peng, C. Yao, T. Li, H. Feng and Z. Qian, J. Mater. Chem. C, 2023, 11, 7510 DOI: 10.1039/D3TC01430D

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