Unveiling electron transfer in a supramolecular aggregate for adaptive and autonomous photochromic response
Xiaofei Kuang,
Lingyi Meng,
Can-Zhong Lu
Affiliations
Xiaofei Kuang
Xiamen Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Photoelectric Functional Materials, Xiamen Institute of Rare Earth Materials, Haixi Institutes, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, P. R. China; CAS Key Laboratory of Design and Assembly of Functional Nanostructures, and Fujian Key Laboratory of Nanomaterials, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, P. R. China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, P. R. China
Lingyi Meng
Xiamen Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Photoelectric Functional Materials, Xiamen Institute of Rare Earth Materials, Haixi Institutes, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, P. R. China; CAS Key Laboratory of Design and Assembly of Functional Nanostructures, and Fujian Key Laboratory of Nanomaterials, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, P. R. China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, P. R. China
Can-Zhong Lu
Xiamen Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Photoelectric Functional Materials, Xiamen Institute of Rare Earth Materials, Haixi Institutes, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, P. R. China; CAS Key Laboratory of Design and Assembly of Functional Nanostructures, and Fujian Key Laboratory of Nanomaterials, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, P. R. China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, P. R. China; Corresponding author
Summary: Interactive and responsive materials are dynamic molecular systems that are capable of modulating their behavior and adapting to environment autonomously. Photochromic materials are among the fascinating class of dynamic responsive systems and widely used in molecular switches and optoelectronic devices. However, the phototriggered color changing largely relies on the conformation transformation of the photochromic motif, which significantly limited their usage in organic liquid solutions. Herein, we demonstrate a photochromic organic supramolecular system by using electron-rich N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMA) and electron-deficient naphthalenediimide (NDI) as a donor and acceptor, respectively. In the binary system, the photo-induced electron transfer through lone pair···π interactions pathway leads to dynamic photochromic response not only in the solution but also in the crystalline aggregated state. Furthermore, by incorporating the supramolecules in the polymer matrix, the transparent polymeric film also exhibits rapid photochromic response, which makes it a promisingly interactive and adaptive photochromic material.
