AsianScientist (Jul. 19, 2016) – Scientists in Japan have developed a series of luminescent compounds that change the color of emission when mechanically stimulated. The finding, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, could be applied to develop a sensor for detecting minute forces within cells.
In a phenomenon known as mechanochromism, certain solid and liquid crystalline materials change their photoluminescence properties upon mechanical stimulation, such as by grinding, ball-milling and crushing. Although such compounds hold much potential for various applications, it was difficult to synthesize mechanochromic compounds with desired emission properties and behaviors, as each molecule emits a different color.
The research team from Hokkaido University synthesized 48 organic compounds containing gold atoms, or gold(I) isocyanide complexes. 28 of these compounds were found to be mechanochromic, emitting colors such as blue, green, yellow and orange upon stimulation.
By conducting detailed analyses of the crystal structures of each individual compound, the researchers found that they all adopted different formations of molecular arrangements. They concluded that this property is key to understanding the changes in their photoluminescence properties.
“If such a sensor is developed, it will contribute to identifying the mechanism for cellular movements and such,” said co-author Dr. Hajime Ito.
The article can be found at: Seki et al. (2016) A Screening Approach for the Discovery of Mechanochromic Gold(I) Isocyanide Complexes with Crystal-to-Crystal Phase Transitions.
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Source: Hokkaido University.
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