Copper(I)-Iodide Clusters as Carriers for Regulating and Visualizing Release of Aroma Molecules

Achieving the controlled release
of functional substances is indispensable
in many aspects of life. Especially for the aroma molecules, their
effective delivery of flavor and fragrance is challenging. Here, selected
pyridines, as highly volatile odorants, were individually coordinated
with copper(I) iodide (CuII) via a straightforward
one-pot synthesis method, rapidly forming pure or even crystalline
CuII cluster-based profragrances at room temperature. The
obtained profragrances enabled the stable and high loading of volatile
fragrances under ambient conditions and guaranteed their long-lasting
release during heating. Furthermore, the intrinsic emission luminescence
of these solid-state profragrances decayed along with the aroma release,
which can serve as an additional indicator for monitoring the delivery
process. This research sets a precedent for using CuII
clusters as dual-purpose release agents and greatly expands their
potential applications.