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The research in circularly polarized luminescence has attracted wide interest in recent years. Efforts on one side are directed toward the development of chiral materials with both high luminescence efficiency and dissymmetry factors, and on the other side, are focused on the exploitations of these materials in optoelectronic applications. This review summarizes the recent frontiers (mostly within five years) in the research in circularly polarized luminescence, including the development of chiral emissive materials based on organic small molecules, compounds with aggregation-induced emissions, supramolecular assemblies, liquid crystals and liquids, polymers, metal-ligand coordination complexes and assemblies, metal clusters, inorganic nanomaterials, and photon upconversion systems. In addition, recent applications of related materials in organic light-emitting devices, circularly polarized light detectors, and organic lasers and displays are also discussed.

Photonic barcodes have attracted extensive attention due to their promising applications in multiplexed high throughput bioassays, item tracking, information security, etc. Organic luminescent materials, capable of assembling into various micro/nanostructures as a result of their outstanding processability, afford a fundamental model for designing novel micro/nanoscale photonic barcodes. In this highlight, we review recent advances in micro/nanoscale photonic barcodes based on organic materials. This highlight starts by introducing the significance of tiny photonic barcodes and discussing why organics have become dominant. Then we present the research progress on organic photonic barcodes in terms of a series of strategies including graphical encoding, spectroscopic encoding and a combination of them both. In the following part, we focus on the construction of covert photonic barcodes based on near-infrared luminescence and responsive excited state processes, which have shown great potential in advanced anti-counterfeiting. Finally, we present our views on the current challenges and the future development of organic micro/nanoscale photonic barcodes. We believe that a comprehensive understanding on this topic would significantly contribute to the advancement of organic photonic barcodes for a broad range of applications.

Herein, we demonstrated a steric-hindrance-controlled laser switch in pure metal-organic framework (MOF) microcrystals. The well-faceted MOF microwires with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) lumnogens as linkers function as typical Fabry-Pérot microlasers. The steric hindrance around the AIE linkers can be reduced by the loss of guest molecules, which lead to the enhanced rotation of linkers with red-shifted gain behavior. On this basis, the gain region was readily switched through changing the steric hindrance via the desorption/adsorption of guests. As a result, the reversible switching of the dual-wavelength lasing from MOF microwires was achieved. The results provide a promising route to the development of versatile micro-/nanolasers with desired applications.

The hydraulic conductivity and chemical compatibility of bentonite slurry for grouting walls were evaluated. Bentonite slurry of different concentrations and volumes was injected into fine-sand, medium-sand and coarse-sand aquifers. The results indicated that bentonite slurry was a fast and highly efficient grouting material. After injection into aquifers, a low-permeability zone could be formed immediately near the injection point. Through 24 groups of experiments, it was determined that bentonite slurry with concentrations of 6%, 7% and 10% and volumes of 0.6 PV, 0.8 PV and 0.6 PV, respectively, was required to meet the hydraulic conductivity requirement of cut-off walls for fine-sand, medium-sand and coarse-sand aquifers. In addition, the chemical compatibility of bentonite slurry was investigated to investigate its applicability as grouting wall material at waste containment facilities. Permeation with 50 mM H2SO4 solution resulted in an increase in the hydraulic conductivity by a factor of 65–73 times. The suitable pH of the bentonite slurry grouting wall ranged from 2.0 to 13.0. The hydraulic conductivity increased by a factor of approximately 4.7–54 during permeation with 10 ~ 1000 mM CaCl2. Bentonite slurry grouting walls cannot be applied in environments with salt concentrations greater than 10 mM. In contrast, permeation with 10 mM phenol solutions resulted in no appreciable change in hydraulic conductivity. Bentonite slurry grouting walls are appropriate for environments with dissolved organic pollution.

Organic composite materials have been attracting extensive research interest for light‐emitting applications. A wide variety of luminescent organic composite materials have been synthesized, which are of great significance for both the investigation of basic photophysics and the realization of high‐performance photonic devices. Function‐oriented syntheses of luminescent organic composite materials rely on the understanding and manipulating of molecular excited states. In this review, we focus on the discussion about the structure design and dynamics modulation of the electronic excited states in the organic composite materials. The excited‐state structures and dynamics involve singlet/triplet levels, vibronic transition, charge transfer, and energy transfer, and so on, while the light‐emitting behaviors include fluorescence, phosphorescence, persistent luminescence, electroluminescence, and lasing. We aim to give insight into the relationship between light‐emitting properties and excited states of organic composite materials, which is beneficial for reaching higher tiers of design and applications of luminescent organic composite materials.

We present herein an innovative host–guest method to achieve induced molecular chirality from an achiral stilbazolium dye (DSM). The host–guest system is exquisitely designed by encapsulating the dye molecule in the molecule-sized chiral channel of homochiral lanthanide metal–organic frameworks (P-(+)/M-(−)-TbBTC), in which the P- or M-configuration of the dye is unidirectionally generated via a spatial confinement effect of the MOF and solidified by the dangling water molecules in the channel. Induced chirality of DSM is characterized by solid-state circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) and micro-area polarized emission of DSM@TbTBC, both excited with 514 nm light. A luminescence dissymmetry factor of 10−3 is obtained and the photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of the encapsulated DSM in DSM@TbTBC is ∼10%, which is close to the PLQY value of DSM in dilute dichloromethane. Color-tuning from green to red is achieved, owing to efficient energy transfer (up to 56%) from Ln3+ to the dye. Therefore, this study for the first time exhibits an elegant host–guest system that shows induced strong CPL emission and enables efficient energy transfer from the host chiral Ln-MOF to the achiral guest DSM with the emission color tuned from green to red., Homochiral Ln-MOFs are synthesized to encapsulate achiral dyes to induce strong circularly polarized luminescence with a luminescence dissymmetry factor of 10−3.

Porous organic frameworks have emerged as the promising platforms to construct tunable microlasers. Most of these microlasers are achieved from metal-organic frameworks via meticulously accommodating the laser dyes with the sacrifice of the pore space, yet they often suffer from the obstacles of either relatively limited gain concentration or sophisticated fabrication techniques. Herein, we reported on the first hydrogen-bonded organic framework (HOF) microlasers with color-tunable performance based on conformation-dependent stimulated emissions. Two types of HOF microcrystals with the same gain lumnogen as the building block were synthesized via a temperature-controlled self-assembly method. The distinct frameworks offer different conformations of the gain building block, which lead to great impacts on their conjugation degrees and excited-state processes, resulting in remarkably distinct emission colors (blue and green). Accordingly, blue/green-color lasing actions were achieved in these two types of HOFs based on well-faceted assembled wire-like cavities. These results offer a deep insight on the exploitation of HOF-based miniaturized lasers with desired nanophotonics performances.

[K(dibenzo-18-crown-6)]+ (KC) cations are used for cocrystallization with manganese halides, producing isostructural single crystals of organic–inorganic hybrid complexes, [K(dibenzo-18-crown-6)]2M...

The structural flexibility of hybrid perovskite materials allows for phase transition and consequently thermochromic properties. Here we investigate the thermochromic performance in a series of copper-based layered perovskites with organic cations having different alky chain lengths. Their transition temperature is found to be dependent on the organic cations due to molecular motion and hydrogen bond interaction, providing possibilities to prepare thermochromic semiconductors near room temperature for smart window applications.

Organic polymorphs with tunable luminescence are crucial in developing organic luminescent materials, but the regulation of molecular packing modes and intermolecular interactions in organic crystals remains a challenge. Here, we report three triphenylamine–benzothiazole (TZ) compounds by systematically changing the substituents, resulting in different crystal emission characteristics. The polymorphs of blue emission (TZ-1B) and cyan emission (TZ-1C) crystals are obtained by controlling the crystallization conditions, however, we could not obtain organic polymorphs of TZ-2 or TZ-3 in various solvent systems. By molecular systems and detailed single crystal analysis, it is found that appropriate substituents play a key role in manipulating the intermolecular interactions and the molecular packing modes to affect the optical properties of organic crystals. Moreover, TZ-1C exhibits blue-shifted mechanochromism, while TZ-1B does not. More importantly, TZ-1B exhibits a lasing emission at 454 nm with a low threshold and a high cavity quality factor. TZ-1C exhibits amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) at 462 nm. Thus, the molecular systems provide a reasonably potent molecular strategy to understand the molecular packing structure–fluorescence property relationship.

The controlled construction of organic heterostructured architectures derived from molecules with similar nucleation thresholds and concentrations has been rare and remains a great challenge. Herein, we report a sequential epitaxial growth to synthesize dual-color-emitting organic heterostructures with 9,10-bis(phenylethynyl)anthracene (BPEA) microwire trunks and tris-(8-hydroxyquinoline)aluminium (Alq3) microstructure branches by an anti-solvent induced sequential crystallization strategy. During the epitaxial growth process, the hydrogen-bonding interactions of the anti-solvent and solvent cause a large change in the solubility and crystallization rate of BPEA and Alq3 molecules in the mixed system, which facilitates sequential crystallization of organic molecule pairs with similar nucleation thresholds and concentrations into desired heterostructures by manipulating the synergism of anti-solvents and solvents. The Förster resonant energy transfer process in heterostructures could be modulated by varying the structure of heterostructures, such as the shape, amount and angles of the branches. The present synthesis strategy provides a unique insight into the detailed formation mechanism of complex organic heterostructures, further guiding the construction of more functional heterostructure materials.

In this work, we demonstrate a stimulated emission-controlled photonic transistor on a single organic triblock nanowire composed of alternate energy donor and acceptor. The population of acceptor excitons was engineered by energy transfer to achieve enhanced fluorescence, which was further amplified by the stimulated emission of the donor and the optical feedback in the nanowire microcavities, yielding a remarkable nonlinear amplification of the acceptor emission. On this basis, a prototype of photonic transistor with high nonlinear gain at very low pump energy was achieved. The results will provide a useful enlightenment for the rational design of novel all-optical switches with desired performances.

Organic-inorganic metal-halide materials (OIMMs) with zero-dimensional (0D) structures offer useful optical properties with a wide range of applications. However, successful examples of 0D structural OIMMs with well-defined optical performance at the micro-/nanometer scale are limited. We prepared one-dimensional (1D) (DTA)2 SbCl5 ⋅DTAC (DTAC=dodecyl trimethyl ammonium chloride) single-crystal microrods and 2D microplates with a 0D structure in which individual (SbCl5 )2- quadrangular units are completely isolated and surrounded by the organic cation DTA+ . The organic molecular unit with a long alkyl chain (C12 ) and three methyl groups enables microrod and -plate formation. The single-crystal microrods/-plates exhibit a broadband orange emission peak at 610 nm with a photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of ca. 90 % and a large Stokes shift of 260 nm under photoexcitation. The broad emission originates from self-trapping excitons. Spatially resolved PL spectra confirm that these microrods exhibit an optical waveguide effect with a low loss coefficient (0.0019 dB μm-1 ) during propagation, and linear polarized photoemission with a polarization contrast (0.57).

MOF-based one-dimensional materials have received increasing attention in the nanophotonics field, but it is still difficult in the flexible shape evolution of MOF micro/nanocrystals for desired optical functionalities due to the susceptible solvothermal growth process. Herein, we report on the well-controlled shape evolution of pure-MOF microcrystals with optical waveguide and lasing performances based on a bottom-up and top-down synergistic method. The MOF microcrystals from solvothermal synthesis (bottom-up) enable the evolution from microrods via microtubes to nanowires through a chelating agent-assisted etching process (top-down). The three types of MOF 1D-microstructures with high crystallinity and smooth surfaces all exhibit efficient optical waveguide performance. Furthermore, MOF nanowire with lowest propagation loss served as low-threshold pure-MOF nanolasers with Fabry-Perot resonance. These results advance the fundamental understanding on the controlled MOF evolution mechanism, and offer a valuable route for the development of pure-MOF-based photonic components with desired functionalities.

Modern high-security cryptography and optical communication call for covert bit sequences with high coding capacity and efficient authentication. Stimuli-responsive lasing emissions with easily distinguishable readout are promising in the coding field as a novel cryptographic primitive, while the application is frequently restricted by the limited number of emission states. Here, we report a strategy of achieving multiple competitive lasing signals in responsive organic microspheres where a donor–acceptor pair was introduced. The competitive lasing from the donor and acceptor was reversibly switched by modulating the competition between the radiative rate of the donor and the rate of energy transfer, and the generated multiple lasing signals enabled a quaternary coding for recognizable cryptographic implementation. Data encryption and extraction were demonstrated using a 4 × 4 microlaser array, showing vast prospects in avoiding the disclosure of security information. The results offer a comprehensive understanding of excited-state dynamics in organic composite materials, which may play a major role in high-security optical recording and information encryption.

Batch experiments were designed to ascertain the morphology and valence of chromium in the reduction of hexavalent chromium with syrup under different pH conditions. Results indicated that the syrup reduced hexavalent chromium to trivalent chromium, and the existing forms of Cr were mainly Cr(OH)3, CrOOH and CrOOH–Fe. The percentage of Fe–Mn oxide-bound state was 29.28%, 29.28%, 22.22% and 20.12%, respectively, and the percentage of organic binding state was 64.71%, 66.58%, 74.74% and 73.14%, respectively, in the reaction systems at different pH (2.0, 2.5, 3.0 5.6) conditions.

All-color subwavelength output of lasers was demonstrated in a rationally designed organic microdisk/silver nanowire heterostructures. The dye-doped flexible microdisks served as the wavelength tunable whispering-gallery-mode lasers with low lasing thresholds, whereas the silver nanowires supported the output of the lasing mode as subwavelength coherent light sources. The wavelength of the outcoupled laser was tuned over the full visible spectrum scope owing to the flexibility of the microdisks and their compatibility with various organic laser dyes. Furthermore, a multicolor subwavelength laser was achieved in a single heterostructure and the laser output was successfully modulated by varying the surface plasmon polariton propagation length.

The rational design of multifunctional materials with both emissive and semiconducting properties remains a challenge. A multifunctional cruciform donor–acceptor (D–A) molecule, 2,2′-(((4,8-bis(5-(2-ethylhexyl)thiophen-2-yl)benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene-2,6-diyl)bis(thiophene-5,2-diyl))bis(methanylylidene))dimalononitrile (BDTTM), which contains a benzodithiophene as the central core, has been synthesized and, based on the output and transfer characteristics of the corresponding FETs, thin films of BDTTM exhibited ambipolar semiconducting behavior. Notably, FETs with thin films of BDTTM showed a photoresponse in both p- and n-channels, and drain-source-current enhancement under white-light irradiation could be detected, even at a low light intensity of 0.1 mW cm−2. Furthermore, BDTTM exhibited red-light emission both in solution and as a crystalline solid. A microplate of BDTTM with red-light emission displayed typical optical waveguiding behavior.

In this work, we chose tris(2,2′-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II)hexafluorophosphate (Ru(bpy)3(PF6)2), a metal-organic complex material, to prepare nanowires, which were subsequently applied for the construction of electrochemiluminescence (ECL) biosensor by immobilizing them onto a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) with graphene-Nafion composite films. The graphene therein, being a two-dimensional carbon nanomaterial with outstanding electronic properties, can obviously improve the conductivity of the Nafion film, as well as enhance the electrochemical signal and ECL intensity of the Ru(bpy)3(PF6)2 nanowires (RuNWs) at low graphene concentration. The developed biosensor exhibited excellent ECL stability with tripropylamine (TPrA) as co-reactant. The ECL biosensor exhibited high sensitive ECL response in a wide linear range and low detection limit for the detection of proline. It is considered that the oxidation products of proline would be responsible for the ECL enhancement. The large electro-active area of the nanowires and the enhancement effect of the graphene played critical roles in the high detection performance of the ECL biosensor. The results demonstrated herein may provide a useful enlightenment for the design of more sensitive ECL biosensors.

We demonstrate the fabrication of organic high Q active whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) resonators from π-conjugated polymer by a controlled emulsion-solvent-evaporation method, which can simultaneously provide optical gain and act as an effective resonant cavity. By measuring the shift of their lasing modes on exposure to organic vapor, we successfully monitored the slight concentration variation in the chemical gas. These microlaser sensors demonstrated high detection sensitivity and good signal repeatability under continuous chemical gas treatments. The results offer an effective strategy to design miniaturized optical sensors.

Refractive index is one of the important physical properties, which is widely used in separation and purification. In this study, the refractive index data of ILs were collected to establish a comprehensive database, which included about 2138 pieces of data from 1996 to 2014. The Group Contribution-Artificial Neural Network (GC-ANN) model and Group Contribution (GC) method were employed to predict the refractive index of ILs at different temperatures from 283.15 K to 368.15 K. Average absolute relative deviations (AARD) of the GC-ANN model and the GC method were 0.179% and 0.628%, respectively. The results showed that a GC-ANN model provided an effective way to estimate the refractive index of ILs, whereas the GC method was simple and extensive. In summary, both of the models were accurate and efficient approaches for estimating refractive indices of ILs.

To understand the characteristics such as the pollutants and the sources of heavy metals in the Hunchun basin farmland soil, soil samples were collected and the contents of As, Hg, Cu, Pb, Zn, Cr, Ni, and Cd were measured. The enrichment factor (EF) was calculated. Multiple statistical analyses including correlation analysis and principal component analysis was executed. The results show that the mean contents of As Hg, Cu, Pb, Zn, Cr, Ni, and Cd were 9.09 mg kg−1, 0.06 mg kg−1, 20.17 mg kg−1, 23.34 mg kg−1, 68.25 mg kg−1, 65.02 mg kg−1, 22.91 mg kg−1, and 0.12 mg kg−1, respectively in the Hunchun basin. The values of the mean content were not above the criterion of the China Standard of Soil Environmental Quality (GB15618-1995, CSSEQ). The contents of Pb and Zn were lower than the background values of Jilin province. However, the contents of the other heavy metals exceeded the background values, particularly for Hg. More than 20% of the samples were significantly polluted by Hg, according to the EF, and less than 10% by other elements. The main sources of mercury in the Hunchun basin are artificial activity such as the lighting of coal fires by power stations and loose residents, dusts arising from coal transport, pesticides, and fertilizers. The other heavy metals reach along with the parent material in the whole area. However, in the high enrichment area, the sources of Cu, Zn, and Cd were farming, communications, and transportation; the sources of As are sewage irrigation, pesticides, and fertilizers; the sources of Pb are communication and transportation; the sources of Cr are dusts from the mining, transport, and burning of coal.

Polymorphism and anisotropy are fundamental phenomena of crystalline materials. However, the structure-dependent photoluminescent (PL) anisotropy in polymorphic organic crystals has remained unexplored. Herein, two polymorphic nanocrystals, green-emitting nanorods (PtD-g) and yellow-emitting nanoplates (PtD-y), were obtained from a platinum(II)−β-diketonate complex. The PtD-y crystals display remarkable PL anisotropy with an anisotropy ratio of up to 0.87 whereas the emission of the PtD-g crystals is nearly unpolarized. The polarization properties are rationalized on the different molecular packing of these crystals. By light-harvesting energy transfer, the PtD-y crystals are successfully used to amplify the emission polarization of a red-emitting platinum acceptor (PtA) doped into the donor crystalline matrix, which is otherwise weakly polarized as pure crystals.

Organic contamination of groundwater is a major concern in China. However, remediation technology for groundwater contamination to address the potential harm and danger brought by the above-mentioned serious issue is still in the research stage. This study aims to improve the current research findings. In the research project, drilling, soil, and groundwater sampling and analysis were conducted in a contamination site of a petrochemical plant, migration of contaminants to the river was predicted using a numerical model, the sequence permeable reactive barrier (PRB) for treating nitrobenzene (NB) and benzene was proposed, and simulation was carried out. Research findings demonstrated that three leaking locations had been identified in the plant, the major pollutants were NB and benzene, and the groundwater contamination area was around 640000 m2. Computation results of the numerical model indicated that, in the worst case, the groundwater plume would reach the river after migration for nearly 9 years, which would endanger the safety of surface water supply. Furthermore, the two- PRB system with the filling of zero-valent iron (ZVI) and granular activated carbon attached with biofilm exerted strong remediation effects. Experimental results indicated that ZVI could transform NB to aniline effectively with a rate of approximately 93%. Meanwhile, aniline, benzene, and other organic pollutants could easily be biodegraded.

We propose a general approach for obtaining dual-wavelength organic microlasers in amphiphilic Janus resonators, where hydrophilic and hydrophobic dyes can be spatially separated via polarity-driven encapsulation. Low-threshold dual-wavelength lasing was achieved in a single Janus particle with well-modulated output. This universal approach enables flexibly designing the lasing wavelength of the Janus microlasers in the full visible spectrum by systematically altering the encapsulated laser dyes. Our findings demonstrate a promising route to the photonic integration at the micro-/nanoscale that may lead to the innovation of concepts and device architectures for multifunctional optoelectronic applications.

Wavelength-tunable lasers were experimentally achieved through exciton funneling in light-harvesting organic microcrystals., Organic solid-state lasers are essential for various photonic applications, yet current-driven lasing remains a great challenge. Charge transfer (CT) complexes formed with p-/n-type organic semiconductors show great potential in electrically pumped lasers, but it is still difficult to achieve population inversion owing to substantial nonradiative loss from delocalized CT states. Here, we demonstrate the lasing action of CT complexes based on exciton funneling in p-type organic microcrystals with n-type doping. The CT complexes with narrow bandgap were locally formed and surrounded by the hosts with high-lying energy levels, which behave as artificial light-harvesting systems. Excitation light energy captured by the hosts was delivered to the CT complexes, functioning as exciton funnels to benefit lasing actions. The lasing wavelength of such composite microcrystals was further modulated by varying the degree of CT. The results offer a comprehensive understanding of exciton funneling in light-harvesting systems for the development of high-performance organic lasing devices.

Solid state emissive materials with high quantum yields and tunable emissions are desirable for various applications. A new TPE derivative (1) with two carbazole moieties and two cyano groups is reported, which shows typical aggregation induced emission behavior. Four crystals 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d are obtained after crystallization from N,N-dimethylformamid (DMF), trichloromethane (CHCl3 ), tetrahydrofuran (THF), and dichloromethane (CH2 Cl2 ), respectively. Crystal structural analyses reveal that (i) molecules of 1 co-crystallize with DMF, CHCl3 , THF, and CH2 Cl2 in 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d, respectively, and (ii) conformations of 1 are different within 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d, and compound 1 within crystal 1a adopts the most twisting conformation. Crystalline solids 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d exhibit high emission quantum yields up to 0.65, but their emission colors are varied from blue to green. In comparison, the amorphous solid of 1 is yellow-emissive with emission maximum at 542 nm. Moreover, the blue- or green-emissive crystalline solids and the yellow-emissive amorphous solid can be inter-converted by the grinding of crystalline solids and exposure of the amorphous solid to vapors of appropriate solvents. It is also demonstrated that microrods of 1a, 1b, and 1d show typical optical waveguiding behavior.

Nanoscale lasers are ideal light-signal sources for integrated photonic devices. Most of the present lasers made of dielectric materials are restricted to being larger than half the wavelength of the optical field. Plasmon lasers made from metallic nanostructures can help to break the diffraction limit, yet they suffer from low optical pump efficiencies and low quality factors. Integrating dielectric lasers with plasmonic waveguides to construct hybrid material systems may circumvent these problems and combine the advantages of the two components. Here we demonstrate the nanoscale output of dielectric lasers via photon-plasmon coupling in rationally designed perovskite/silver heterostructures. The perovskite crystals offer the gain and high-Q cavity for low-threshold laser generation, while the embedded silver nanowires (AgNWs) help to output the lasing modes efficiently in the form of surface plasmons. The output coupling can be modulated by controlling the resonant modes of the two-dimensional perovskite microcavities. The results would pave an alternative avenue to ultrasmall light sources as well as fundamental studies of light-matter interactions.

Wavelength tunable micro/nanolasers are indispensable components for various photonic devices. Here, we report broadband tunable microlasers built by incorporating a highly polarized organic intramolecular charge-transfer (ICT) compound with a supramolecular host. The spatial confinement of the ICT dye generates an optimized energy level system that favors controlled population distribution between the locally excited (LE) state and the twisted intramolecular charge-transfer (TICT) state, which is beneficial for significantly broadening the tailorable gain region. As a result, we realized a wide tuning of lasing wavelength in the organic supramolecular microcrystals based on temperature-controlled population transfer from the LE to TICT state. The results will provide a useful enlightenment for the rational design of miniaturized lasers with desired performances.

Predicting hydrogen sulfide (H2S) solubility in ionic liquids (ILs) is vital for industrial gas desulphurization. In this work, the qualitative analysis of the influence of cations and anions on the H2S solubility in ILs has been conducted. The results indicate that anions play an important role in determining the H2S solubility in ILs. Subsequently, two novel quantitative structure–property relationship (QSPR) models are developed based on charge distribution area (Sσ-profile) descriptors and an extreme learning machine (ELM) algorithm. To develop the QSPR models, a total of 1282 pieces of data belonging to 27 ILs are employed to validate the models. The average absolute relative deviation (AARD%) and coefficient of determination (R2) of the two QSPR models of the entire data set are 3.73% and 0.998, as well as 3.80% and 0.997, respectively. These results suggest that the proposed QSPR models can be useful for the prediction of H2S solubility in ILs.

A beneficial "microenvironment effect" on the efficiency of confined electrocatalysts is predicted by theory. However, examples of its experimental confirmation are scarce for catalysts based on polyoxometalates for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). For this purpose, the cyclic 48-tungsto-8-phosphate [H7P8W48O184](33) (P8W48) was fixed in a 3D configuration on reduced graphene oxide sheets (rGO) to boost its HER activity. The HRTEM imaging and the solid state P-31 NMR spectrum of P8W48/rGO reveal a strong interaction between individual P8W48 and transparent rGO sheets. The calculation of the interaction between P8W48 and graphene (G) sheets is difficult to perform within a reasonable period of time because of the large size and very high overall negative charge of P8W48. However, as P8W48 is symmetrical, a quarter of its structure [H2P2W12O48](12-) (P2W12) was extracted as a DFT calculation model. As P8W48 in P8W48/rGO is neutral, due to surrounding counter cations, the calculation model P2W12 is neutral with protons considering the affordable computational time. The adsorption energy for P2W12 on G (-1.55 eV) and the charge transfer between P2W12 and G (0.66 vertical bar e vertical bar) indicate that a strong interaction between P2W12 and G sheets exists. Kinetic studies show that the P8W48/rGO hybrids display excellent HER activity in acid, further confirmed by reproducible generation of hydrogen with quantitative faradaic yield and a high turnover frequency (11 s(-1) at 295 mV overpotential) for a noble metal-free electrocatalyst. Importantly, the overpotentials required for the HER compare well with those of the commercial Pt/C (20 wt% Pt), which indicates that P8W48/rGO is a promising cheap HER electrocatalyst. We demonstrate here the most convincing experimental evidence of the "microenvironment effect" on HER electrocatalysis by a polyoxometalate.

Two isostructural dense lanthanide metal–organic frameworks derived from an extended ligand 1,3,5-tris(4-carboxyphenyl)benzene (H3BTB), [Ln(BTB)H2O]n (Ln = Eu, 1; Ln = Dy, 2), which are constructed via a cross-like folding assembly strategy, were yielded by ‘two-step warming solvothermal synthesis’. Complex 1 shows luminescence while complex 2 exhibits field-induced two-step magnetic relaxation.

In this work, we employ the Corey–Fuchs reaction followed by coupling reactions to develop a series of π-conjugated aggregation-induced emission (AIE) small-molecule luminophores (DT2A, DT3A and DT4A) through a 2,2-(2,2-diphenylethene-1,1-diyl)dithiophene (DPDT) core with different amounts and different strengths of TPA peripheral moieties. Interestingly, these molecules give obviously higher solid fluorescent quantum efficiency and AIE phenomena. In particular, the thin film of DT3A exhibited the highest fluorescent quantum efficiency of ca. 25% and the DT2A showed the highest αAIE of 78. Moreover, the excellent optical waveguide applications of DT2A and DT4A were achieved because of their excellent self-assembly properties. Meanwhile, piezofluorochromic behavior with a large red shift of 35 nm only appeared when DT4A was ground using a pestle, because DT4A inserted more TPA and changed the twisting conformation. The piezofluorochromic behavior can be recovered to its original color by fuming with solvent. Finally, DT2A and DT4A were utilized as fluorescent probes to detect nitroaromatic/nitroaliphatic compounds and showed evident fluorescence quenching. These results indicate a huge potential to develop bright AIEgens based on DPDT core units and also provide insights into understanding how piezofluorochromism, optical waveguides and explosive detection properties are influenced by alternating the spatial symmetry of AIE materials with different numbers of TPA terminal groups.

A new type of flavone-based fluorescent probe (DMAF) capable of cysteine (Cys)/homocysteine (Hcy) sensing with high selectivity over other amino acids was developed. Such type of probe undergoes Cys/Hcy-mediated cyclization reaction with the involvement of its aldehyde group, which suppresses of the photoinduced electron transfer (PET) process of the probe molecule and consequently leads to the enhancement of fluorescence emission upon excitation using visible light. The formation of product of the Cys/Hcy-mediated cyclization reaction was confirmed and the preliminary fluorescence imaging experiments revealed the biocompatibility of the as-prepared probe and validated its practicability for intracellular Cys/Hcy sensing.

We present a nitrogen-containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (N-PAH), namely 12-methoxy-9-(4-methoxyphenyl)-5,8-diphenyl-4-(pyridin-4-yl) pyreno[1,10,9-h,i,j]-isoquinoline (c-TPE-ON), which exhibits high quantum-yield emission both in solution (blue) and in the solid state (yellow). This molecule was unexpectedly obtained by a three-fold, highly regioselective photocyclodehydrogenation of a tetraphenylethylene-derived AIEgen. Based on manifold approaches involving UV/Vis, photoluminescence, and NMR spectroscopy as well as HRMS, we propose a reasonable mechanism for the formation of the disk-like N-PAH that is supported by density functional theory calculations. In contrast to most PAHs that are commonly used, our system does not suffer from entire fluorescence quenching in the solid state due to the peripheral aromatic rings preventing p-p stacking interactions, as evidenced by single-crystal X-ray analysis. Moreover, its rod-like microcrystals exhibit excellent optical waveguide properties. Hence, c-TPE-ON comprises a N-PAH with unprecedented luminescent properties and as such is a promising candidate for fabricating organic optoelectronic devices. Our design and synthetic strategy might lead to a more general approach to the preparation of solution-and solid-state luminescent PAHs.

We report the switchable optical waveguide microfibers based on fluorescent supramolecular polymer for the first time. The pillar[5]arene-based supramolecular polymeric microfibers were prepared easily from the viscous solution of bispillar[5]arene host (bisP5A) and diphenylanthracene-derived guest (GD). The resulting microfibers act as an active optical waveguide material with long propagation distance (400 μm) and low optical propagation loss (0.01 dB/μm). When photoresponsive dithienylethene-derived guest (GDTE) was added, the resulting ternary microfibers show switchable optical waveguide by the noninvasive control of UV/vis light with negligible fatigue over four cycles. This convenient preparation method is also applied for the quadruple-hydrogen-bonded fluorescent supramolecular polymeric microfibers which imply good light propagation property with an optical loss coefficient of 0.02 dB/μm.

Real-time visualization of assembly processes and sophisticated signal processing at the nanoscale are two challenging topics in photonic nanomaterials. Here, high-quality light-harvesting crystalline nanorods were developed by the coassembly of two polypyridyl Ir(III) and Ru(II) metallophosphors, behaving as the antenna chromophore and energy acceptor, respectively. By using a one-pot or stepwise growth condition, homogeneous and multiblock heterojunction nanorods were prepared, respectively. These nanostructures display multicolor phosphorescence from green to red due to the efficient triplet energy transfer and light-harvesting capability at low acceptor doping ratios. Heterojunction nanorods show gradient emission-color switches during different growth stages, in which the real-time stepwise assembly can be vividly visualized using fluorescence microscopy techniques. Triplet excitons were successfully manipulated in both homogeneous and heterojunction nanorods to realize waveguided green, orange, and red emissions and advanced photonic signal logics and encoding/decoding on single multiblock heterojunction nanorod.

Asymmetric photon transport was experimentally realized in a single organic semiconductor nanowire., The ability to steer the flow of light toward desired propagation directions is critically important for the realization of key functionalities in optical communication and information processing. Although various schemes have been proposed for this purpose, the lack of capability to incorporate an external electric field to effectively tune the light propagation has severely limited the on-chip integration of photonics and electronics. Because of the noninteractive nature of photons, it is only possible to electrically control the flow of light by modifying the refractive index of materials through the electro-optic effect. However, the weak optical effects need to be strongly amplified for practical applications in high-density photonic integrations. We show a new strategy that takes advantage of the strong exciton-photon coupling in active waveguides to effectively manipulate photon transport by controlling the interaction between excitons and the external electric field. Single-crystal organic semiconductor nanowires were used to generate highly stable Frenkel exciton polaritons with strong binding and diffusion abilities. By making use of directional exciton diffusion in an external electric field, we have realized an electrically driven asymmetric photon transport and thus directional light propagation in a single nanowire. With this new concept, we constructed a dual-output single wire–based device to build an electrically controlled single-pole double-throw optical switch with fast temporal response and high switching frequency. Our findings may lead to the innovation of concepts and device architectures for optical information processing.

Micro- and nanometer-sized metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) materials have attracted great attention due to their unique properties and various potential applications in photonics, electronics, high-density storage, chemo-, and biosensors. The study of these materials supplies insight into how the crystal structure, molecular components, and micro-/nanoscale effects can influence the performance of inorganic-organic hybrid materials. In this Minireview article, we introduce recent breakthroughs in the controlled synthesis of MOF micro-/nanomaterials with specific structures and compositions, the tunable photonic and electronic properties of which would provide a novel platform for multifunctional applications. Firstly, the design strategies for MOFs based on self-assembly and crystal engineering principles are introduced. Attention is then focused on the methods of fabrication of low-dimensional MOF micro-/nanostructures. Their new applications including two-photon excited fluorescence, multi-photon pumped lasing, optical waveguides, nonlinear optical (NLO), and field-effect transistors are also outlined. Finally, we briefly discuss perspectives on the further development of these hybrid crystalline micro-/nanomaterials.

Hybrid fluorescent nanoparticles (NPs) capable of fluorescing near-infrared (NIR) light (centered ∼730 nm) upon excitation of 800 nm laser light were constructed. A new type of conjugated polymer with two-photon excited fluorescence (TPEF) feature, P-F8-DPSB, was used as the NIR-light harvesting component and the energy donor while a NIR fluorescent dye, DPA-PR-PDI, was used as the energy acceptor and the NIR-light emitting component for the construction of the fluorescent NPs. The hybrid NPs possess δ value up to 2.3 × 10(6) GM per particle upon excitation of 800 nm pulse laser. The excellent two-photon absorption (TPA) property of the conjugated polymer component, together with its high fluorescence quantum yield (ϕ) up to 45% and the efficient energy transfer from the conjugated polymer to NIR-emitting fluorophore with efficiency up to 90%, imparted the hybrid NPs with TPEF-based NIR-input-NIR-output fluorescence imaging ability with penetration depth up to 1200 μm. The practicability of the hybrid NPs for fluorescence imaging in Hela cells was validated.

In this work, two rigid, multiple tetraphenylethene (TPE)-substituted, π-conjugated, snowflake-shaped luminophores BT and BPT were facilely synthesized by using a 6-fold Suzuki coupling reaction. These molecules are constructed based on the nonplanar structure of propeller-shaped hexaphenylbenzene (HPB) or benzene as core groups and TPE as end groups. As a result, they reserve the intrinsic aggregation-induced emission (AIE) property of the TPE moiety. Meanwhile, both fluorescence quantum yield and piezochromic behavior in the solid state can be tuned or switched by inserting the phenyl bridges through changing the twisting conformation. The more extended structure BPT showed a much stronger AIE effect and higher ΦF,f in the solid state in comparison with that of BT. Furthermore, an excellent optical waveguide application of these molecules was achieved. However, the revisable piezofluorochromic behavior has only appeared when BT was ground using a pestle and treated with solvent.

A series of dialkoxybenzo[j]fluoranthene derivatives were readily and efficiently synthesized in gram scale starting from the commercial 6- or 7-methoxy-1-tetralone. The crystal structures of the BjF derivatives were described, and their structure–optical properties in solution and in the solid state were investigated. Moreover, this kind of organic material also exhibited excellent optical waveguide behavior owing to their large Stokes shifts and high crystallinity.

Flexible microdisk whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) resonators with high quality factors were achieved through the controlled assembly of organic materials with an emulsion-solvent-evaporation method. The high material compatibility of the assembled microdisks enabled us to realize low-threshold WGM lasers by doping with organic dyes as gain media. Furthermore, the emulsion-assisted self-assembly provided a strategy for the one-step fabrication of microwire-waveguide-connected microdisk heterostructures, which can be utilized for the efficient output of the isotropic WGM lasers from the coupled waveguides. We hope that these results will pave an avenue for the construction of new types of flexible WGM-based components for photonic integration.

In this paper seven salts of pyridinium-substituted tetraphenylethylene with different anions are reported. They show typical aggregation-induced emission. Crystal structures of three of the salts with (CF(3)SO(2))(2) N(-), CF(3) SO(3)(-), and SbF(6)(-) as the respective counter anions, are determined. The emission behavior of their amorphous and crystalline solids is investigated. Both amorphous and crystalline solids, except for the one with I(-), are highly emissive. Certain amorphous solids are red-emissive with almost the same quantum yields and fluorescence life-times. However, some crystalline solids are found to show different emission colors varying from green to yellow. Thus, their emission colors can be tuned by the counter anions. Furthermore, certain crystalline solids are highly emissive compared to the respective amorphous solids. Such solid-state emission behavior of these pyridinium-substituted tetraphenylethylene salts is interpreted on the basis of their crystal structures. In addition, optical waveguiding behavior of fabricated microrods is presented.

Dual-color single-mode nanolasers were experimentally achieved in axially coupled organic nanowire heterogeneous resonators., Miniaturized lasers with multicolor output and high spectral purity are of crucial importance for yielding more compact and more versatile photonic devices. However, multicolor lasers usually operate in multimode, which largely restricts their practical applications due to the lack of an effective mode selection mechanism that is simultaneously applicable to multiple wavebands. We propose a mutual mode selection strategy to realize dual-color single-mode lasing in axially coupled cavities constructed from two distinct organic self-assembled single-crystal nanowires. The unique mode selection mechanism in the heterogeneously coupled nanowires was elucidated experimentally and theoretically. With each individual nanowire functioning as both the laser source and the mode filter for the other nanowire, dual-color single-mode lasing was successfully achieved in the axially coupled heterogeneous nanowire resonators. Furthermore, the heterogeneously coupled resonators provided multiple nanoscale output ports for delivering coherent signals with different colors, which could greatly contribute to increasing the integration level of functional photonic devices. These results advance the fundamental understanding of the lasing modulation in coupled cavity systems and offer a promising route to building multifunctional nanoscale lasers for high-level practical photonic integrations.

A novel single crystal, PyB, is produced in a high yield by the simple method of connecting a pyrene unit and a rhodamine B moiety together. PyB shows multiple functions of aggregation-induced emission, low-loss optical waveguiding, and tricolored mechanochromism. The crucial point for fabricating such a multifunctional single crystal is selecting the C═N group as a spacer, which simplifies the synthetic procedure, confines the molecular conformation to develop single crystals, and allows one to dynamically observe the color variation in situ and quantitatively analyze the effect of applied pressures. Such a simple approach may be extended to other fluorophores, thus providing a new opportunity for the real world application of mechanochromic materials for mechanical sensors, optical encoding, and optoelectronic devices, etc.

A sensitive electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) sensor with an organic semiconductor as active material for detecting trace amounts of molecules has been highly desired. However, the crystal structure responses of the ECL properties of the organic semiconductor materials, that is, structure-property relationship, is not clear, which limits the development of the sensitive ECL sensors. Herein, for the first time, we reported a novel concept for molecular-stacking-arrangement-dependent electrogenerated chemiluminescence properties of organic semiconductor rubrene microstructures. The rubrene 1D microwires and 2D hexagonal plates with different polymorphs (triclinic and monoclinic) were controllably constructed with the reprecipitation method. The supersaturation of the rubrene molecules plays an important role in the thermodynamically and kinetically dominated process of growth, which affects not only the polymorphs but also the morphology of the obtained microstructures. These microstructures show good optoelectronic properties, which are used as active ECL materials for the construction of ECL sensors. The ECL sensors exhibited distinct electrogenerated chemiluminescence properties, probably related to different inherent crystal-structure-dependent triplet-triplet annihilation rate and charge-transfer rate. The sensors manifested electrogenerated chemiluminescence responses in broad linear range for the monitoring of creatinine molecules.