Reversible color switching of bright phosphorescence in purely organic materials for advanced data encryption.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 41922318.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-025-65225-w and PMC identifier 13043680.
- Licence recorded as CC BY-NC-ND.
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Abstract
Purely organic phosphors have emerged as promising materials for various optical applications. Herein, we report a single-component organic phosphorescent crystal, 1,1'-(2,5-dibromoterephthaloyl)bis(glutarimide) (BrGlu), which exhibits fully reversible, pseudopolymorph-dependent phosphorescence color switching. Under standard crystallization conditions, BrGlu forms green-emitting crystal (G-crystal), while crystallization in the presence of CHCl<sub>3</sub> yields blue-emitting solvent-inclusion crystal (B-crystal). Notably, G-crystal converts into B-crystal upon exposure to CHCl<sub>3,</sub> whereas the blue crystals revert to green upon heating, demonstrating a reversible phosphorescence-to-phosphorescence switching mechanism. Through a combination of experimental analyses and quantum chemical calculations, we elucidate the underlying mechanism governing this triplet emission color transformation: syn-anti conformational reorientation of bromine-carbonyl substituents: upon solvent inclusion, hydrogen bonding stabilizes the syn-rotamer to yield bright-blue phosphorescence, whereas gentle heating reverts the system to the anti-rotamer for green emission. Exploiting this property, we develop an advanced data encryption platform featuring a dual-layer security system-phosphorescence emission combined with thermal- or solvent-induced stimuli-response-significantly enhancing security in secure data encryption and anti-counterfeiting.