Mechanochromic Luminescence of Copper Iodide Clusters

• Published in: Chemistry : a European journal Vol. 21; no. 15; pp. 5892 - 5897
• Main Authors: Benito, Quentin, Maurin, Isabelle, Cheisson, Thibaut, Nocton, Gregory, Fargues, Alexandre, Garcia, Alain, Martineau, Charlotte, Gacoin, Thierry, Boilot, Jean-Pierre, Perruchas, Sandrine
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Weinheim WILEY-VCH Verlag 07.04.2015; WILEY‐VCH Verlag; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc; Wiley-VCH Verlag
• Subjects: Chemical Sciences; Chemistry; cluster compounds; Clusters; Copper; Crystals; Disruption; Emissivity; Iodides; Luminescence; Material chemistry; Optical properties; polymorphism; X-ray diffraction; X-ray diffraction; copper; cluster compounds; polymorphism; luminescence
• ISSN: 0947-6539; 1521-3765
• DOI: 10.1002/chem.201500251

Luminescent mechanochromic materials are particularly appealing for the development of stimuli‐responsive materials. Establishing the mechanism responsible for the mechanochromism is always an issue owing to the difficulty in characterizing the ground phase. Herein, the study of real crystalline polymorphs of a mechanochromic and thermochromic luminescent copper iodide cluster permits us to clearly establish the mechanism involved. The local disruption of the crystal packing induces changes in the cluster geometry and in particular the modification of the cuprophilic interactions, which consequently modify the emissive states. This study constitutes a step further toward the understanding of the mechanism involved in the mechanochromic luminescent properties of multimetallic coordination complexes. A glowing report: The unusual mechanochromic luminescence properties of the studied copper iodide cluster result from local disruption of the crystal packing, which induces changes in the cluster geometry, thereby modifying the emissive properties (see figure).