Room-temperature phosphorescence and anomalous piezochromism in molecular crystals enabled by iodine atomic orbital sharing

Tongge Xu, Chunguang Zhai (), Ziyao Liu, Xiaoying Yang, Shuhe Hu, Yuchen Shang, Lei Yue, Jiajun Dong, Ran Liu, Quanjun Li, Mingguang Yao () and Bingbing Liu
Additional contact information
Tongge Xu: Jilin University
Chunguang Zhai: Jilin University
Ziyao Liu: Jilin University
Xiaoying Yang: Jilin University
Shuhe Hu: Jilin University
Yuchen Shang: Jilin University
Lei Yue: Jilin University
Jiajun Dong: Jilin University
Ran Liu: Jilin University
Quanjun Li: Jilin University
Mingguang Yao: Jilin University
Bingbing Liu: Jilin University

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract Controlling room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) in organic materials through external stimuli is crucial for elucidating RTP mechanisms and engineering stimuli-responsive materials for various applications. However, compared to fluorescent materials, regulating RTP presents greater challenges due to its intricate photophysical processes, particularly in the quest for RTP materials with desirable stimulus-responsive properties. Here we show that when the interactions of iodine with neighboring molecules in 1,4-diiodotetrafluorobenzene (1,4-DITFB) crystals are tuned by pressure, exotic emission behaviors emerge. These emissions exhibit anomalous blue-shifted characteristics and enhanced intensities upon compression, accompanied by prolonged lifetimes. Notably, such piezochromic luminescence responses are impeded through a co-crystallization strategy that hinders iodine-iodine interactions. We further reveal that the observed anomalous emissions related to the unique state of iodine by providing additional orbitals shared with surrounding molecules. Our findings not only open pathways for designing tailored stimuli-responsive luminescent materials but also offer valuable insights into the underlying mechanisms governing organic RTP emitters.

Date: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-58864-6 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-58864-6

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-58864-6

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().