Facile and Equipment-Free Data Encryption and Decryption by Self-Encrypting Pt(II) Complex

Luminescence
switching materials are vital to various data security-related
techniques, including data encryption–decryption. Here, we
report a family of pseudopolymorphs based on a diimine–platinum­(II)
complex, Pt­(Me3SiCCbpyCCSiMe3)­(CCC6H4Br-3)2 (1), and systematically studied the influence of stacking modes on
luminescence switching behaviors. Upon exposure to heat or tetrahydrofuran
vapor, these pseudopolymorphs exhibit unusual stacking mode-intervened
luminescence switching (SMILS) property that non-columnar and quasi-columnar
pseudopolymorphs undergo single- and multi-step conversion processes,
respectively, to the same non-columnar products. Systematic studies
revealed that the unique SMILS behavior is caused by the existence
of stable intermediate products as well as different conversion processes
of pseudopolymorphs with distinct stacking modes. Such a new property
leads to the self-encryption function of 1, which is
very important for improving the existing data encryption–decryption
technique. On this basis, we developed a facile, reusable, equipment-free
technique with 1 as the only starting material and realized
data encryption–decryption successfully.