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Light-Harvesting System with Photo-Tunable Property for Time-Resolved Encryption and Anti-Counterfeiting
Dengqing Zhang1, Jie Yang1, Meng Xia1
1State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, P. R. China.
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
|October 28, 2025
Summary
Researchers developed a smart material system for dynamic fluorescence. This supramolecular system uses light to control color changes, enabling advanced information encryption and anti-counterfeiting applications.
Area of Science:
- Supramolecular Chemistry
- Materials Science
- Photophysics
Background:
- Photo-tunable smart materials are crucial for time-resolved information encryption and anti-counterfeiting.
- Achieving dynamic fluorescence properties in the time dimension remains a significant challenge.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a supramolecular artificial light-harvesting system with photo-controlled switching properties.
- To enable dynamic fluorescence color modulation for advanced applications.
Main Methods:
- Designed a system with a tetraphenylethylene (TPE)-based platinum(II) metallacycle as the energy donor.
- Incorporated photochromic spiropyran moieties into TPE side chains via amide linkages.
- Utilized UV light irradiation to induce ring-opening of spiropyran to merocyanine (MC) and cascade energy transfer with Cy5.
Main Results:
- The system demonstrated enhanced light-harvesting efficiency and energy conversion.
- Achieved photo-controlled switching and reversible photochromic transformation.
- Successfully exploited dynamic fluorescence color modulation for time-resolved information encryption and anti-counterfeiting.
Conclusions:
- The developed supramolecular system offers unique photo-responsive characteristics.
- Provides fundamental insights into supramolecular chemistry and photo-functional materials.
- Presents promising avenues for advanced information security applications.
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