Stimuli-responsive solid-state emission from o-carborane–tetraphenylethene dyads induced by twisted intramolecular charge transfer in the crystalline state

Abstract

We described herein a unique dual emission switching process from o-carborane–tetraphenylethene (TPE) dyads induced by twisted intramolecular charge transfer (TICT) in the crystalline state. Two novel o-carborane–tetraphenylethylene dyads, composed of a TPE core bearing o-carborane units, were designed, synthesized and characterized. Crystalline o-1 and o-2 were obtained with mono-substituted and bi-substituted o-carborane units, respectively. Both dyads presented locally excited (LE) emission and TICT induced emission in solutions. Crystalline o-1 demonstrated aggregation-induced emission (AIE), crystallization-induced emission (CIE), thermochromism, vapochromism, and mechanical luminescence (MCL) properties via TICT, while crystalline o-2 showed only the AIE and CIE properties orginating from the inherent ICT states. From the mechanistic investigations and theoretical calculations, it was demonstrated that the emission was reversible and switchable between green and orange colors for o-1, which was assigned to the facile TICT modulation in the solid state. The results manifest that the unique three-dimensional o-carborane cluster's structure plays an important role in precisely controlling the molecular packing patterns and conformations to achieve TICT emission.