An Acid-Responsive Single Trichromatic Luminescent Dye That Provides Pure White-Light Emission

A novel acid-responsive single trichromatic luminescent dye capable of emitting pure white light (WL) is reported. A newly designed p-phenylene-bridged bipyrrole bearing N-alkylimino groups (1 a) specifically provides WL emission upon mixing with trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) in a CH₂Cl₂ solution. The emission originates from the trichromatic luminescent behavior of 1 a upon protonation of the imino groups. The blue-light-emitting 1 a exhibits dramatic color changes in fluorescence to orange and green upon mono- and diprotonation, respectively, providing a wide emission band in the range of λ=400-800 nm that provide WL when the compound is in a dynamic equilibrium between the three states. The sample also exhibits low self-absorption of the emitted light and a high fluorescence quantum yield upon excitation with UV light.