Single-Fluorophore-Based Organic Crystals with Distinct Conformers Enabling Wide-Range Excitation-Dependent Emissions

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2022 Oct 10;61(41):e202211106. doi: 10.1002/anie.202211106. Epub 2022 Sep 2.

Abstract

Achieving wide-range tunable emission colors, especially in the solid state of single-fluorophore materials, remains a significant challenge. Herein, we report a molecular design strategy that affords wide-range excitation-dependent emissions spanning over ≈230 nm in crystalline states. Under the donor-π-acceptor configuration, we judiciously choose a rotatable acceptor fragment, o-carborane, to enrich conformational diversities in the crystalline state and generate conformation-dependent multicolor emissions. We further show that this molecular platform is generalizable in creating crystalline materials with multicolor emissions. Based on these materials, a high-capacity information storage device and a finite-state machine were fabricated to showcase multicolor displays and information storage.

Keywords: Color-Tunable Luminescent Materials; Conformation-Dependent Emission; Excitation-Dependent Emission; Potential Energy Surface; o-Carborane.