An Uncommon Solvent‐Controlled Photochromic Tetraphenylethylene‐Based Co‐crystal

Abstract A co‐crystal FJU‐182 with a closed cage structure with photochromic phenomenon was formed using a tetraphenylene derivatives 4,4′,4′′,4′′′‐(anthracene‐9,10‐diylidenebis(methanediyl‐ylidene))tetrabenzoic acid self‐assembled with 1,3‐di(4‐pyridyl)propane in a solvent. It was also found that isomorphic crystals grown from different solvents exhibited different fluorescence. The electron paramagnetic resonance and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy data showed that the photochromic mechanism of crystal FJU‐182 was due to photoinduced electron transfer, while the different color change of crystals grown from different solvents was attributed to the size of solvent molecules. The I − V curves of the crystals FJU‐182 before and after illumination were also tested, and it was found that the conductivity of the crystals before the color change would be 3–8 times higher than the conductivity of the crystals after the color development. FJU‐182 provides a new case for electrochemical devices with photoelectric response.