Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 7, 2026
09:38
Scaling of Engineered Vascular Grafts Using 3D Printed Guides and the Ring Stacking Method
Published on: March 27, 2017
8.8K
Beyond Excimer: Engineering Pyrene Stacking With Mechanical Bonds for Tunable Emissions
Wei-Tao Xu1, Rui-Hua Zhang2, Xue Li2
1Wuhu Hospital, East China Normal University (The Second People's Hospital, Wuhu), Wuhu, China.
Angewandte Chemie (International Ed. in English)
|February 5, 2026
Summary
Researchers engineered pyrene stacking using mechanical bonds in novel [1]rotaxanes. This allows precise control over molecular packing, enabling tunable circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) properties for advanced chiral materials.
Area of Science:
- Supramolecular Chemistry
- Photophysics
- Materials Science
Background:
- Hierarchical molecular packing significantly influences photophysical properties in multi-chromophore systems.
- Controlling molecular arrangement is key to designing advanced functional materials.
- Pyrene excimers are known for their sensitivity to conformational changes and stacking.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between engineered pyrene stacking and photophysical properties.
- To develop novel pyrene-functionalized [1]rotaxanes with tunable hierarchical structures.
- To explore the impact of controlled molecular architecture on circularly polarized luminescence (CPL).
Main Methods:
- Synthesis of pyrene-functionalized [1]rotaxanes with mechanically interlocked pyrene units.
- Characterization of molecular packing and conformations using spectroscopic techniques.
- Analysis of photophysical properties, including circularly polarized luminescence (CPL).
- Computational modeling using time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) simulations.
Main Results:
- Successful engineering of tunable triple-layered pyrene stacking within [1]rotaxane structures.
- Demonstration of adjustable CPL properties, including luminescence dissymmetry factors (glum), invertible handedness, and programmable emission wavelengths.
- Observation of modulated CPL behavior in tris-pyrene-functionalized systems due to synergistic/antagonistic interactions.
- Identification of a previously unobserved stacking effect influencing CPL, confirmed by TD-DFT.
Conclusions:
- Precise control over pyrene stacking via mechanical bonds enables fine-tuning of CPL properties.
- The study provides fundamental insights into the correlation between molecular architecture and photophysical response in pyrene systems.
- Engineered [1]rotaxanes offer a versatile platform for designing advanced chiral luminescent materials with tailored optical outputs.
Related Concept Videos
02:49Bond Energies and Bond Lengths
31.5K
Stable molecules exist because covalent bonds hold the atoms together. The strength of a covalent bond is measured by the energy required to break it, that is, the energy necessary to separate the bonded atoms. Separating any pair of bonded atoms requires energy — the stronger a bond, the greater the energy required to break it.
31.5K
02:45Valence Bond Theory
50.3K
Overview of Valence Bond Theory
50.3K
02:43Peptide Bonds
83.2K
A peptide bond covalently attaches amino acids through a dehydration reaction. One amino acid's carboxyl group and another amino acid's amino group combine, releasing a water molecule. The resulting bond is the peptide bond. The products that such linkages form are peptides. As more amino acids join this growing chain, the resulting chain is a polypeptide. Each polypeptide has a free amino group at one end. This end has the N-terminal, or the amino-terminal, and the other end has a free...
83.2K
02:32Bonding in Metals
52.5K
Metallic bonds are formed between two metal atoms. A simplified model to describe metallic bonding has been developed by Paul Drüde called the “Electron Sea Model”.
52.5K
00:42Ionic Bonds
131.1K
Overview
When atoms gain or lose electrons to achieve a more stable electron configuration they form ions. Ionic bonds are electrostatic attractions between ions with opposite charges. Ionic compounds are rigid and brittle when solid and may dissociate into their constituent ions in water. Covalent compounds, by contrast, remain intact unless a chemical reaction breaks them.
Opposing Charges Hold Ions Together in Ionic Compounds
Ionic bonds are reversible electrostatic interactions between ions...
When atoms gain or lose electrons to achieve a more stable electron configuration they form ions. Ionic bonds are electrostatic attractions between ions with opposite charges. Ionic compounds are rigid and brittle when solid and may dissociate into their constituent ions in water. Covalent compounds, by contrast, remain intact unless a chemical reaction breaks them.
Opposing Charges Hold Ions Together in Ionic Compounds
Ionic bonds are reversible electrostatic interactions between ions...
131.1K
02:39Emission Spectra
76.4K
When solids, liquids, or condensed gases are heated sufficiently, they radiate some of the excess energy as light. Photons produced in this manner have a range of energies, and thereby produce a continuous spectrum in which an unbroken series of wavelengths is present.
76.4K