Color-Tunable Upconversion-Emission Switch Based on Cocrystal-to-Cocrystal Transformation

Abstract

Cocrystal engineering, involving the assembly of two or more components into a highly ordered solid-state superstructure, has emerged as a popular strategy for tuning the photophysical properties of crystalline materials. The reversible co-assembly and disassembly of multicomponent cocrystals and their reciprocal transformation in the solid state remain challenging objectives. Herein, we report a color-tunable upconversion-emission switch based on the interconversion between two cocrystals. One red- and one yellow-emissive cocrystal, composed of an electron-deficient naphthalenediimide-based triangular macrocycle and different electron donors, have been obtained. The red- and yellow-emissive cocrystals undergo reversible transformations on exchanging the electron donors. Benefiting from intermolecular charge transfer interactions, the two cocrystals display superior two-photon excited upconversion emission. Accompanying the interconversion of the two cocrystals, their luminescent color changes between red and yellow, forming a dual-color upconversion-emission switch. This research provides a rare yet critical example involving precise control of cocrystal-to-cocrystal transformation and affords a reference for fabricating color-tunable nonlinear optical materials in the solid state.