title: A phosphorescent molecular "butterfly" that undergoes a photoinduced structural change allowing temperature sensing and white emission.
abstract: A butterfly-like phosphorescent platinum(II) binuclear complex can undergo a molecular structure change in which the Pt-Pt distance shortens upon photoexcitation, which leads to the formation of two distinct excited states and dual emission in the steady state, that is, greenish-blue emission from the high-energy excited state at the long Pt-Pt distance and red emission from the low-energy excited state at the short Pt-Pt distance. This photoinduced molecular structure change has a strong dependence on the molecule's surrounding environment, allowing its application as self-referenced luminescent sensor for solid-liquid phase change, viscosity, and temperature, with greenish-blue emission in solid matrix and rising red emission in molten liquid phase. With proper control of the surrounding media to manipulate the structural change and photophysical properties, a broad white emission can be achieved from this molecular butterfly.
authors.affiliation: Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, FAMU-FSU College of Engineering(USA).
authors.forename: Mingu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.forename: Zhao
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Biwu
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ma
keywords: dual emission; metal-metal interactions; molecular sensor; photoinduced transformations; platinum