Grinding-Induced Water Solubility Exhibited by Mechanochromic Luminescent Supramolecular Fibers

Most mechanochromic luminescent compounds are crystalline and highly hydrophobic; however, mechanochromic luminescent molecular assemblies comprising amphiphilic molecules have rarely been explored. This study investigated mechanochromic luminescent supramolecular fibers composed of dumbbell-shaped 9,10-bis(phenylethynyl)anthracene-based amphiphiles without any tetraethylene glycol (TEG) substituents or with two TEG substituents. Both amphiphiles formed water-insoluble supramolecular fibers via linear hydrogen bond formation. Both compounds acquired water solubility when solid samples composed of supramolecular fibers are ground. Grinding induces the conversion of 1D supramolecular fibers into micellar assemblies where fluorophores can form excimers, thereby resulting in a large redshift in the fluorescence spectra. Excimer emission from the ground amphiphile without TEG chains is retained after dissolution in water. The micelles are stable in water because hydrophilic dendrons surround the hydrophobic luminophores. By contrast, when water is added to a ground amphiphile having TEG substituents, fragmented supramolecular fibers with the same molecular arrangement as the initial supramolecular fibers are observed, because fragmented fibers are thermodynamically preferable to micelles as the hydrophobic arrays of fluorophores are covered with hydrophilic TEG chains. This leads to the recovery of the initial fluorescent properties for the latter amphiphile. These supramolecular fibers can be used as practical mechanosensors to detect forces at the mesoscale.

Multi-Stimuli-Responsive Amphiphilic Pyridinium Salt and Its Application in the Visualization of Level 3 Details in Latent Fingerprints

Organic luminescent materials that can simultaneously achieve multimode mechanochromism and its water-vapor-induced recovery are desirable for practical applications but rarely reported. Herein, an amphiphilic compound, 4-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)-1-(2-hydroxyethyl)pyridin-1-ium bromide (CPAB), is designed by integrating a lipophilic aromatic unit and hydrophilic end in the molecular architecture. Self-recovered mechanochromism from brown to cyan is observed upon mechanical grinding in air. Comprehensive research by X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, and single-crystal analysis reveals that the photoluminescence switch originates from the variation in intermolecular hydrogen bonds and molecular packing mode. The amphiphilic nature of CPAB allows water molecules to enter the crystalline lattice, forming two polymorphs of the crystalline phase, namely CPAB-D and CPAB-W. The hydrosoluble CPAB exhibits excellent capability in probing the level 3 details of fingerprints because its lipophilic part can target the fatty acid residues of fingerprints, leading to strong aggregation-induced fluorescence. The research may inspire the design of latent fingerprint developers and application in forensics/anti-counterfeiting.

New Rofecoxib-Based Mechanochromic Luminescent Materials and Investigations on Their Aggregation-Induced Emission, Acidochromism, and LD-Specific Bioimaging

Development of new mechanochromic luminescent (MCL) materials from aggregation-induced emission luminogens (AIEgens) has attracted wide attention due to their potential application in multiple areas. However, rational design and crafting of new MCL materials from the simple AIEgens skeleton is still a big challenge because of the undesirable concentration quenching effect. In this study, we have constructed a new class of MCL materials by adding one phenyl as a new rotator and incorporating one pair of electron donor (D) and acceptor (A) into the system of rofecoxib skeleton. This strategy endowed the compounds (Y1-Y8) with tunable emission behavior and some of them with the AIE effect and reversible MCL behavior. These properties may be caused by the highly twisted conformation and loosely molecular packing modes, which were elucidated clearly by analyzing the data of single-crystal X-ray diffraction, powder X-ray diffraction, and differential scanning calorimetry. Further investigation revealed that Y7 displayed acidochromic property due to the protonation of the nitrogen atom. Moreover, Y7, as a typical compound, showed its potential applications in the area of anticounterfeiting, pH sensor, and LD-specific bioimaging.

Pyridine Nitrogen Position Controlled Molecular Packing and Stimuli-responsive Solid-State Fluorescence Switching: Supramolecular Complexation Facilitated Turn-on Fluorescence

Fluorophore structure and supramolecular interactions plays important role on the molecular conformation and packing in the solid state that strongly influenced on the solid-state fluorescence properties. Herein, we report the...

Mechanochromic Luminescence from Crystals Consisting of Intermolecular Hydrogen-Bonded Sheets

Introduction of functional groups that can form intermolecular hydrogen bonds into highly-emissive luminophores is a promising way to induce mechanochromic luminescence. Herein, we report that a 9,10-bis(phenylethynyl)anthracene derivative featuring two amide groups forms green-emissive crystals based on two-dimensional hydrogen-bonded molecular sheets. Mechanical grinding changed the emission from green to yellow, owing to a transition from a crystalline to an amorphous phase. Infrared spectroscopy revealed that mechanical stimuli disrupted the linear hydrogen-bonding formation. A thermal treatment recovered the original green photoluminescence.

An Anthracene Excimer Fluorescence Probe on Mesoporous Silica for Dual Functions of Detection and Adsorption of Mercury (II) and Copper (II) with Biological In Vivo Applications

Dual functional activity by the same organic-inorganic hybrid material toward selective metal ion detection and its adsorption has drawn more attraction in the field of sensing. However, most of the hybrid materials in the literature are either for sensing studies or adsorption studies. In this manuscript, a fluorescent active hybrid material SiO₂ @PBATPA is synthesized by covalent coupling of anthracene-based chelating ligand N,N'-(propane-1,3-diyl) bis(N-(anthracen-9-ylmethyl)-2-((3-(triethoxysilyl)propyl) amino) acetamide) (PBATPA) within the mesopores of newly synthesized cubic mesoporous silica. The synthetic strategy is designed to form an exclusively intramolecular excimer on a solid surface, which is then used as a sensory tool for selective detection of metal ions through fluorescence quenching by the destruction of excimer upon metal ion binding. The dual functions of sensing and adsorption studies show selectivity toward Hg²⁺ and Cu²⁺ among various metal ions with detection limits of 37 and 6 ppb, respectively, and adsorption capacities of 482 and 246 mg g^-1 , respectively. This material can be used as a sensory cum adsorbent material in real food samples and living organisms such as the brine shrimp Artemia salina without any toxic effects from the material.

A mechano-responsive fluorescent xerogel based on an anthracene-substituted acylhydrazone derivative

AHBP-8 can form a stable organogel and enhanced fluorescence emission has been observed after gelation. The AHBP-8 xerogel exhibited favorable mechano-fluorochromism behavior.

YVO4:Nd3+ nanophosphors as NIR-to-NIR thermal sensors in wide temperature range

We report on the potential application of NIR-to-NIR Nd3+-doped yttrium vanadate nanoparticles with both emission and excitation operating within biological windows as thermal sensors in 123-873 K temperature range. It was demonstrated that thermal sensing could be based on three temperature dependent luminescence parameters: the luminescence intensity ratio, the spectral line position and the line bandwidth. Advantages and limitations of each sensing parameter as well as thermal sensitivity and thermal uncertainty were calculated and discussed. The influence of Nd3+ doping concentration on the sensitivity of luminescent thermometers was also studied.

Ratiometric near-infrared fluorescence nanothermometry in the OTN-NIR (NIR II/III) biological window based on rare-earth doped β-NaYF4 nanoparticles

A novel nanothermometer based on over-1000 nm (OTN) near-infrared (NIR) emission of rare-earth doped ceramic nanophosphors (RED-CNPs) was developed for temperature measurement in deep tissue. Hexagonal-phase β-NaYF₄ nanoparticles co-doped with Yb³⁺, Ho³⁺, and Er³⁺ (NaYF₄:Yb³⁺,Ho³⁺,Er³⁺ NPs) were synthesized and used as a nanothermometer. The NaYF₄:Yb³⁺,Ho³⁺,Er³⁺ NPs displayed two OTN-NIR emission peaks in the second (NIR-II) (at 1150 nm of Ho³⁺) and third (NIR-III) (at 1550 nm of Er³⁺) biological window regions under NIR (980 nm) excitation in the first (NIR-I) biological window region. Oleic acid (OA) capped NaYF₄:Yb³⁺,Ho³⁺,Er³⁺ NPs were dispersed in non-polar media, i.e., cyclohexane, and showed a temperature-dependent intensity ratio of the emission peaks of Ho³⁺ and Er³⁺ (I_Ho/I_Er). The temperature-dependent I_Ho/I_Er of the OA-NaYF₄:Yb³⁺,Ho³⁺,Er³⁺ NPs was also evident through imitation tissue. The surfaces of the NaYF₄:Yb³⁺,Ho³⁺,Er³⁺ NPs were modified with a poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-based block copolymer. The PEGylated NaYF₄:Yb³⁺,Ho³⁺,Er³⁺ NPs were dispersed in water and emitted strong NIR-II and III emissions under NIR-I excitation. The PEGylated NaYF₄:Yb³⁺,Ho³⁺,Er³⁺ NPs were injected into mice via the tail vein, and the OTN-NIR emissions of the PEGylated NaYF₄:Yb³⁺,Ho³⁺,Er³⁺ NPs from the mouse blood vessels were clearly observed using an OTN-NIR fluorescence in vivo imaging system. In a polar media, water, the I_Ho/I_Er of PEGylated NaYF₄:Yb³⁺,Ho³⁺,Er³⁺ NPs was inversely related to the temperature. In both non-polar and polar media, the I_Ho/I_Er values of the NaYF₄:Yb³⁺,Ho³⁺,Er³⁺ NPs were almost linearly dependent on the temperature. The obtained NaYF₄:Yb³⁺,Ho³⁺,Er³⁺ NPs are promising as a novel fluorescent nanothermometer for deep tissue.

High contrast stimuli-responsive luminescence switching of pyrene-1-carboxylic esters triggered by a crystal-to-crystal transition

Unexpected high contrast mechanochromic, thermochromic and vaporchromic luminescence has been achieved through a simple introduction of an ester group to a pyrene skeleton and a series of stimuli-responsive materials based on pyrene-1-carboxylic esters were efficiently developed.

Mechanoresponsive luminescence and liquid-crystalline behaviour of a cyclophane featuring two 1,6-bis(phenylethynyl)pyrene groups

A symmetric pyrenophane exhibits mechanoresponsive luminescence in the solid state and shows a nematic liquid-crystalline behavior at elevated temperature.

Mechanoresponsive Luminescent Molecular Assemblies: An Emerging Class of Materials

The possibility to change the molecular assembled structures of organic and organometallic materials through mechanical stimulation is emerging as a general and powerful concept for the design of functional materials. In particular, the photophysical properties such as photoluminescence color, quantum yield, and emission lifetime of organic and organometallic fluorophores can significantly depend on the molecular packing, enabling the development of molecular materials with mechanoresponsive luminescence characteristics. Indeed, an increasing number of studies have shown in recent years that mechanical force can be utilized to change the molecular arrangement, and thereby the optical response, of luminescent molecular assemblies of π-conjugated organic or organometallic molecules. Here, the development of such mechanoresponsive luminescent (MRL) molecular assemblies consisting of organic or organometallic molecules is reviewed and emerging trends in this research field are summarized. After a brief introduction of mechanoresponsive luminescence observed in molecular assemblies, the concept of "luminescent molecular domino" is introduced, before molecular materials that show turn-on/off of photoluminescence in response to mechanical stimulation are reviewed. Mechanically stimulated multicolor changes and water-soluble MRL materials are also highlighted and approaches that combine the concept of MRL molecular assemblies with other materials types are presented in the last part of this progress report.

Preparation of organic mechanochromic fluorophores with simple structures and promising mechanochromic luminescence properties

An efficient method to design and synthesize simple organic mechanochromic molecules based on pyrene skeleton is reported. Based on this method, a broad range of phosphonium materials with promising mechanochromic luminescence have been developed.

Tuning the thermo- and mechanoresponsive behavior of luminescent cyclophanes

The thermo- and mechanoresponsive luminescent behavior of cyclophanes is tuned just by changing the ring size.

Exploring the Intrinsic Piezofluorochromic Mechanism of TPE-An by STS Technique

9,10-bis(4-(1,2,2-triphenylvinyl)styryl)anthracene (TPE-An) materials have attracted considerable attention in recent years because they have high luminescence efficiency and excellent piezofluorochromic properties, which have potential applications in organic light-emitting display (OLED) area. Scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) technique was used to study the piezofluorochromic mechanism of aggregation-induced emission (AIE) materials for the first time. Photoluminescence (PL) experiments revealed that the emission peak of TPE-An is observed to exhibit a red-shift with the increase of the grinding time. A theoretical calculation was carried out to find the relationship between the bandgap of TPE-An and the external force by combination of the classical tunneling theory and STS results. It is found that when the pressure variation on the surface of TPE-An film was increased to be over 4.38 × 10(4) Pa, the shrink of the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO)-lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) gap can arrive at 1.1 eV. It is concluded that the piezofluorochromic behaviors of TPE-An should originate from the shrinking effect of the bandgap under external force. Moreover, this research method may shed light on comprehending and adjusting the piezofluorochromic characters of other AIE materials.

pH responding reversible supramolecular self-assembly of water-soluble amino-imidazole-armed perylene diimide dye for biological applications

A water-soluble amino-imidazole-armed perylene diimide dye exhibits reversible supramolecular structure and fluorescence emission conversion upon external pH-stimulation.