A pillar[5]arene noncovalent assembly boosts a full-color lanthanide supramolecular light switch

A photo-responsive full-color lanthanide supramolecular switch was constructed from a synthetic 2,6-pyridine dicarboxylic acid (DPA)-modified pillar[5]arene (H) complexing with lanthanide ion (Ln(3+) = Tb(3+) and Eu(3+)) and dicationic diarylethene derivative (G(1)) through a noncovalent supramolecular assembly. Benefiting from the strong complexation between DPA and Ln(3+) with a 3 : 1 stoichiometric ratio, the supramolecular complex H/Ln(3+) presented an emerging lanthanide emission in the aqueous and organic phase. Subsequently, a network supramolecular polymer was formed by H/Ln(3+) further encapsulating dicationic G(1)via the hydrophobic cavity of pillar[5]arene, which greatly contributed to the increased emission intensity and lifetime, and also resulted in the formation of a lanthanide supramolecular light switch. Moreover, full-color luminescence, especially white light emission, was achieved in aqueous (CIE: 0.31, 0.32) and dichloromethane (CIE: 0.31, 0.33) solutions by the adjustment of different ratios of Tb(3+) and Eu(3+). Notably, the photo-reversible luminescence properties of the assembly were tuned via alternant UV/vis light irradiation due to the conformation-dependent photochromic energy transfer between the lanthanide and the open/closed-ring of diarylethene. Ultimately, the prepared lanthanide supramolecular switch was successfully applied to anti-counterfeiting through the use of intelligent multicolored writing inks, and presents new opportunities for the design of advanced stimuli-responsive on-demand color tuning with lanthanide luminescent materials.