Reversible mechanochromic luminescence of phenothiazine-based 10,10′-bianthracene derivatives with different lengths of alkyl chains

A series of 10,10'-bis(2-(N-alkylphenothiazine-3-yl)vinyl)-9,9'-bianthracene compounds (PVBAn, n = 2, 8, 12 and 16) with different lengths of N-alkyl chains have been designed and synthesized to systematically investigate the effect of chain length on their solid-state fluorescence properties. The results showed that these compounds emitted strong fluorescence in solution and in the solid state. Their emission wavelengths were also strongly affected by solvent polarity, indicating intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) transitions. Interestingly, the fluorescence emission and grinding-induced spectral shifts of PVBAn solids are alkyl length-dependent. PVBA2 shows the smallest fluorescence and absorption spectrum shifts under mechanical force stimuli. Homologues with longer alkyl chains exhibit similar mechanochromic behaviors and larger fluorescence contrasts after grinding. Moreover, the fluorescence emission of ground solid PVBA16 can recover at room temperature, but other compounds need high temperatures for fluorescence to be restored. Differential scanning calorimetry experiments reveal that the cold-crystallization temperature difference is responsible for thermal restoration behaviors. This work demonstrates the feasibility of tuning the solid-state optical properties of fluorescent organic compounds by combining the simple alteration of chemical structure and the physical change of aggregate morphology under external stimuli.