Photo-controllable heterostructured crystals of metal–organic frameworks via reversible photocycloaddition

Metal–organic framework (MOF)-based heterostructures are attractive because they can provide versatile platforms for various applications but are limited by complex liquid epitaxial growth methods. Here, we employ photolithography to fabricate and control MOF-based heterostructured crystals via [4 + 4] photocycloaddition. A layered dysprosium–dianthracene framework, [Dy(NO(3))(3)(depma(2))(1.5)]·(depma(2))(0.5) (2) [depma(2) = pre-photodimerized 9-diethylphosphonomethylanthracene (depma)] underwent a single-crystal-to-single-crystal transition at 140 °C to form [Dy(NO(3))(3)(depma)(depma(2))]·(depma(2))(0.5) (3). The dissociated anthracene moieties are face-to-face π–π interacted allowing a reversible photocycloaddition between 2 and 3. This structural transformation causes a luminescence switch between blue and yellow-green and thus can be used to fabricate erasable 2 + 3 heterostructured crystals for rewritable photonic barcodes. The internal strain at the heterostructure interface leads to photobending and straightening of the crystal, a photomechanical response that is fast, reversible and durable, even operating at 140 °C, making it promising for photoactuation. This work may inspire the development of intelligent MOF-based heterostructures for photonic applications.