Crystallization-induced emission enhancement in a phosphorus-containing heterocyclic luminogen.
Whereas aggregation often quenches luminescence, the emission of a heterocyclic luminogen, 10-[2,5-bis(4-pentyloxyphenylcarbonyloxy)phenyl]-9,10-dihydro-9-oxa-10-phosphaphenanthrene-10-oxide (3), is greatly enhanced by aggregate formation. Crystallization further boosts the emission of 3, turning it from a weak emitter in the solution state to a strong emitter in the crystalline state. The emission of 3 is changed in response to the exposure to vapors of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The morphology of the thin film of 3 is reversibly and repeatedly modulated between amorphous and crystalline phases by simple fuming-heating and heating-cooling cycles, leading to an emission switching between bright and dark states. The novel attributes of the crystallization-induced emission enhancement, the VOC-responsive emission change, and the morphology-tunable emission switching of 3 could enable it to find applications in an array of technological areas, including chemosensing, optical display, and rewritable information storage.
Qian
Lijun
L
College of Materials Science and Engineering and College of Science, Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT), 5 South Zhongguancun Street, Beijing 100081, China.
Tong
Bin
B
Shen
Jinbo
J
Shi
Jianbing
J
Zhi
Junge
J
Dong
Yongqiang
Y
Yang
Fan
F
Dong
Yuping
Y
Lam
Jacky W Y
JW
Liu
Yang
Y
Tang
Ben Zhong
BZ