Flexible crystals meet dynamic phosphorescence

Utilizing a crystal engineering approach to design multifunctional flexible materials is highly desirable but still a challenging goal. By linking crystal structures and luminescent properties, Ma and co-workers demonstrated a series of single-component molecular crystals simultaneously with high elasticity, room temperature phosphorescence, and multi-level stimuli responsiveness. This study thus expands the scope of potential applications of flexible optical materials. Utilizing a crystal engineering approach to design multifunctional flexible materials is highly desirable but still a challenging goal. By linking crystal structures and luminescent properties, Ma and co-workers demonstrated a series of single-component molecular crystals simultaneously with high elasticity, room temperature phosphorescence, and multi-level stimuli responsiveness. This study thus expands the scope of potential applications of flexible optical materials. An elastic organic crystal with multilevel stimuli-responsive room temperature phosphorescenceSong et al.MatterMay 2, 2023In BriefSong et al. demonstrate a series of organic small-molecule crystals with pure organic room temperature phosphorescence emission, multilevel stimuli responsiveness, and elasticity based on a single-component system. The multilevel stimuli responsiveness originates from the transition of the excited state conformation, while the elasticity of the organic crystals originates from many weak intermolecular interactions. It provides potential applications for elastic crystal materials-based flexible devices. Full-Text PDF