AsianScientist (Dec. 30, 2015) – Scientists have created a novel fluorescent mechanochromic luminesecent material (MCL) that can change between three different colors in response to external forces. The new material, named M-4-B, is the first of its type to be able to show three colors, as reported in Angewandte Chemie.
MCLs, which previously could only showed two colors, are designed to show stress through color change, such as on an over-stressed climbing rope or an overloaded bridge, or to tell medics how hard a cyclist’s helmet has been hit in a crash.
The new MCL has been developed by Professor Jia Xinru and Professor Ma Yuguo from the College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering at Peking University. Their novel tricolored material M-4-B can switch from dark blue to bluish-green, and further to reddish upon grinding.
The researchers are also excited about the simplicity of the synthetic process used to produce the material. M-4-B is made by combining two different materials called tetraphenyl ethylene (TPE) and rhodamine B, a procedure requiring neither sophisticated nor time-consuming lab work.
The team also proposed the working mechanism of M-4-B. They achieved a multicolored switch through controlling the crystallization of M-4-B. To control the crystallization of M-4-B, they used a simple boron atom, a surprising way to tackle the problem.
“Our study may open a new strategy to provide a broad perspective for the development of mechanochemistry”, the group said.
The article can be found at: Ma et al. (2015) A Mechanochromic Single Crystal: Turning Two Color Changes into Tricolored Switch.
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Source: Peking University.
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