The research group headed by Prof. GUO Guocong at Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter (FJIRSM) has developed a series of new photochromic materials.

1) Reporting a new room-temperature X-ray-induced photochromic metal complex, and revealing its new X-ray-induced ligand-to-ligand charge-transfer mechanism Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2012, 51, 3432–3435, Figure 1). Such species can server as ideal X-ray detection materials, because they are recyclable and also X-rays can be “viewed” directly in color by means of them.

Figure 1: X-ray-induced photochromism of a metal complex with a molecular structure

2) Discovering the redox photochromic behavior of N-methyl-4,4’-bipyridinium (MQ+) salts and their metal complexes, which develops the well-known viologen-based redox photochromic system (Inorg. Chem., 2012, 51, 4015−4019, Figure 2).

Figure 2: Photochromism of metal complexes of the MQ+ ligand

3) Developing new photochromic hybrids of metal halides using the viologen and N-alkyl-aniline analogue cations (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2007, 46, 3249–3251, Figure 3; Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2008, 47, 4149–4152), and observing their switchable solid-state photoluminescence and interesting partial photochromic phenomenon (Dalton Trans., 2010, 39, 8688–8692).

Figure 3: Photochromism of a bismuth(III) chloride-viologen hybrid

4) Opening up a new type of redox photochromic metal complex without photochromic precursors (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2007, 46, 3909–3911, Figure 4), based on a new ligand-based electron-transfer mechanism (Chem. Commun., 2010, 46, 361–376, Feature Article).

Figure 4: Photochromism of a metal complex ([Cd2(ic)(mc)(4,4’-bipy)3]_n×4nH2O) with nonphotochromic precursors

Contact:
Prof. GUO Guocong
Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Email: gcguo@fjirsm.ac.cn