Multifunctional Radical-Doped Polyoxometalate-Based Host–Guest Material: Photochromism and Photocatalytic Activity

An effective strategy to synthesize
multifunctional materials is
the incorporation of functional organic moieties and metal oxide clusters
via self-assembly. A rare multifunctional radical-doped zinc-based
host–guest crystalline material was synthesized with a fast-responsive
reversible ultraviolet visible light photochromism, photocontrolled
tunable luminescence, and highly selective photocatalytic oxidation
of benzylic alcohols as a result of blending of distinctively different
functional components, naphthalenediimide tectons, and polyoxometalates
(POMs). It is highly unique to link π-electron-deficient organic
tectons and POMs by unusual POMs anion−π interactions,
which are not only conducive to keeping the independence of each component
but also effectively promoting the charge transfer or exchange among
the components to realize the fast-responsive photochromism, photocontrolled
tunable luminescence, and photocatalytic activity.