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Solid-state photochromism and acidochromism multifunctional materials constructed by tetraphenylethene and spiropyran

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Abstract

Solid-state stimuli-responsive materials are attracting increasing attention due to their broad prospects in the field of functional materials, but there are still some challenges. We design and synthesize two efficient solid-state stimuli-responsive materials SP-TPEm (m = 4, 6) based on TPE covalent connection with N-position of spiropyran through different lengths of alkyl spacers. Both of them show aggregation-induced emission behaviors. Efficient solid-state photoswitching between SP-TPEm and their photoisomer MC-TPEm is achieved. Both of the two films show great stimulus-responsive properties, and the characteristic emission peak is at around 460 nm for TPE and 601 nm for MC isomer. Therefore, SP-TPE4 is applied as an anticounterfeiting ink due to its great solid-state photochromic characteristics. In addition, the solid-state films of SP-TPEm are acidochromic responsive. Moreover, the surface wettability of the SP-TPEm films can be adjusted by UV light. Hence, we provide a new strategy for building solid-state multifunctional materials.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NNSFS 51503174), the Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province (NSFH 2018JJ3499) and the Education Department of Hunan Province (No. 18C0120).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Environmentally Friendly Chemistry and Application of Ministry of Education, and Key Laboratory of Advanced Functional Polymer Materials of Colleges, Universities of Hunan Province and College of Chemistry, Xiangtan University, Xiangtan, 411105, China

    Liang Wu, Renjie Chen, Zhiwang Luo & Ping Wang

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  1. Liang Wu
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  2. Renjie Chen
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  3. Zhiwang Luo
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  4. Ping Wang
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Correspondence to Ping Wang.

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Wu, L., Chen, R., Luo, Z. et al. Solid-state photochromism and acidochromism multifunctional materials constructed by tetraphenylethene and spiropyran. J Mater Sci 55, 12826–12835 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-020-04930-x

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