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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 12, 2026

Harvesting and Cryo-cooling Crystals of Membrane Proteins Grown in Lipidic Mesophases for Structure Determination by Macromolecular Crystallography

Harvesting and Cryo-cooling Crystals of Membrane Proteins Grown in Lipidic Mesophases for Structure Determination by Macromolecular Crystallography

Published on: September 2, 2012

Cryoelastic and cryochromic organic crystals.

Jiechang Wang¹, Linfeng Lan¹, Hongyu Zhang^2,3

¹State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, Changchun, P. R. China.

Nature Communications

|June 10, 2026

Summary

Flexible organic crystals change color with temperature due to structural changes. This discovery enables new optical encryption and low-temperature sensing technologies using luminescent materials.

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Harvesting and Cryo-cooling Crystals of Membrane Proteins Grown in Lipidic Mesophases for Structure Determination by Macromolecular Crystallography

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Area of Science:

Materials Science
Crystallography
Photonic Technologies

Background:

Cryoelastic and cryochromic luminescent organic crystals are promising for adaptive photonics and sensing.
The structural basis for their temperature-dependent color changes is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the structural origins of thermofluorochromism in flexible naphthalene-based Schiff base single crystals.
To establish a structure-property correlation for predicting temperature-dependent optical behavior.

Main Methods:

Single-crystal X-ray diffraction at variable temperatures (298–77 K).
Analysis of crystal lattice dynamics, π⋯π interactions, and exciton coupling.
Characterization of thermofluorochromic responses and excited-state lifetimes.

Main Results:

Flexible single crystals maintained reversible elasticity and crystallinity across a wide temperature range.
Observed distinct thermofluorochromic responses, including significant red shifts (up to ~92 nm) and blue shifts.
Identified a correlation between emission shift direction and changes in π⋯π contact area, influencing exciton coupling.

Conclusions:

Reversible lattice contraction without disorder was observed.
Enhanced π⋯π overlap correlates with red shifts due to stronger exciton coupling.
Geometric descriptors can predict low-temperature color changes, enabling applications in optical encryption and sensing.