Triboluminescence and Selective Hydrogen-Bond Responsiveness of Thiochromanone Derivative

Multifunctional
materials have been a hot research topic because
of their intriguing properties and infinite possibility in various
fields. Among them, triboluminescence (TL) material, although known
for more than four centuries, has been the most mysterious one. In
this study, a thiochromanone derivative (TDI) with planar
molecular configuration, which was considered as unlikely to exhibit
triboluminescence (TL) because of the aggregation-caused quenching
phenomenon, was found to exhibit efficient TL when scraped with a
spoon in the dark or under room light. Furthermore, the molecule was
sensitive to the O–H hydrogen-bond donor. The emission could
be switched from 420 to 470 nm and enhanced in intensity with the
presence of oxhydryl. This work may facilitate the understanding of
the TL mechanism and guide the design of efficient organic TL material.
Additionally, the hydrogen-bond responsiveness of TDI may provide a new path to design the stimuli-responsive system or
to be applied in an information cryptosystem.