journal article·2025-12Open access

Tunable Photoluminescent and Photothermal Properties of Organic Cocrystals Containing Hydrogen‐Bonded Interlocked Planar Molecules

Xinmeng Chen, Ling Zhu, Shan He, Bin Liu, Qiang Lv, Xuedong Wang, Lin Xu, Yu Wang, Ryan T. K. Kwok, Jacky W. Y. Lam, Lianrui Hu, Wenping Hu, Ben Zhong Tang

Advanced Science· Volume 12· Issue 48

Abstract

Abstract Expanding the structural diversity of precursor molecules can inject greater vitality into the development of cocrystal engineering. Here, two hydrogen‐bond interlocked planar molecules, HNAO and HPAO is reported, which coassemble with 1,2,4,5‐tetracyanobenzene (TCB) into charge‐transfer (CT) cocrystals NTC and PTC. The resulting NTC inherits two‐photon adsorption properties from HNAO, with the bathochromic shift enhanced by synergistic ESIPT and CT interactions, ultimately achieving near‐infrared emission. Remarkably, the intramolecular hydrogen bonds lock the molecule into a planar and ordered conformation, enabling regular face‐to‐face packing in NTC organic microwires and yielding the lowest optical‐loss coefficient (0.021 dB/µm) of organic cocrystal to date, thereby demonstrating great potential for applications in optical computing systems. In contrast, the extremely low energy gap between the HOMO of HPAO and the LUMO of TCB in PTC drives a dramatically higher degree of CT in its excited states, predominantly facilitating non‐radiative transitions and resulting in non‐emissive behavior. Nevertheless, this trade‐off enables efficient NIR‐I photothermal conversion (η = 47.7%) and excellent photostability, making PTC highly effective for rapid photothermal imaging and breakthrough time‐dependent information encryption applications. This work enriches the library of cocrystals and provides a novel strategy for tailoring the properties of cocrystal materials.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline

Research context

OpenAlex topics: Luminescence and Fluorescent Materials · Crystallography and molecular interactions · Nanoplatforms for cancer theranostics

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Department of Chemistry and the Hong Kong Branch of Chinese National Engineering Research Center for Tissue Restoration and Reconstruction The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Clear Water Bay Kowloon Hong Kong 999077 China

Shanghai Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry and Chemical Processes Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Molecule Intelligent Syntheses School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering East China Normal University Shanghai 200062 China

School of Chemistry Sun Yat‐Sen University Guangzhou 510006 China

Institute of Functional Nano & Soft Material (FUNSOM) Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Carbon‐Based Functional Materials & Devices Soochow University Suzhou Jiangsu 215123 China

Key Laboratory of Organic Integrated Circuit Ministry of Education & Tianjin Key Laboratory of Molecular Optoelectronic Sciences Department of Chemistry School of Science Tianjin University Tianjin 300072 China

Guangdong Basic Research Center of Excellence for Aggregate Science School of Science and Engineering The Chinese University of Hong Kong Longgang Shenzhen Guangdong 518172 China

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China · Innovation and Technology Commission

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