Polymorphism-Dependent Dynamic Ultralong Organic Phosphorescence

Developing ultralong organic phosphorescence (UOP) materials with smart response to external stimuli is of great interest in photonics applications, whereas the manipulation of molecular stacking on tuning such dynamic UOP is still a formidable challenge. Herein, we have reported two polymorphs with distinct photoactivated dynamic UOP behavior based on a pyridine derivative for the first time. Our experiment revealed that the dynamic UOP behavior including photoactivation and deactivation feature is highly dependent on irradiation intensity and environmental atmosphere. Additionally, given the unique dynamic UOP feature, these phosphors have been successfully applied to phosphorescence-dependent molecular logic gate and timing data storage. This result not only paves a way to design smart functional materials but also expands the scope of the applications on organic phosphorescence materials.