Citation: Lizhi Wang, Chuanxin Wei, Xinyu Du, Yingying Zheng, Shuang Li, Ning Sun, Zhiqiang Zhuo, Ningning Yu, Yingru Lin, Zhiyang Sun, Jinyi Lin, Man Xu, Yongzheng Chang, Tianshi Qin, Zhoulu Wang, Xuehua Ding, Wei Huang. Energy engineering and mechanical elasticity of molecular crystals via supramolecular salt strategy for flexible visible optical waveguide[J]. Chinese Chemical Letters, ;2026, 37(2): 111634. doi: 10.1016/j.cclet.2025.111634 shu

Energy engineering and mechanical elasticity of molecular crystals via supramolecular salt strategy for flexible visible optical waveguide

Lizhi Wang ^{a, 1} ,
Chuanxin Wei ^{a, 1} ,
Xinyu Du ^a ,
Yingying Zheng ^a ,
Shuang Li ^a ,
Ning Sun ^a ,
Zhiqiang Zhuo ^a ,
Ningning Yu ^a ,
Yingru Lin ^a ,
Zhiyang Sun ^a ,
Jinyi Lin ^{a, c} ,
Man Xu ^b ,
Yongzheng Chang ^b ,
Tianshi Qin ^a ,
Zhoulu Wang ^a ,
Xuehua Ding ^{a, *,} ,
Wei Huang ^{a, b}

a.
State Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronics (LoFE) & Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), School of Flexible Electronics (Future Technologies), Nanjing Tech University (NanjingTech), Nanjing 211816, China
b.
State Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronics (LoFE), School of Chemistry and Life Sciences, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing 210023, China
c.
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Institute of Quantum and Sustainable Technology (IQST), Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China

iamxhding@njtech.edu.cn

Received Date: 24 April 2025
Revised Date: 7 July 2025
Accepted Date: 23 July 2025
Available Online: 25 July 2025

Figures(6)

Improving the optoelectronic behavior and stress-deformation stability of conjugated materials is crucial for the realization of their potential applications in flexible optoelectronics. To tune the emission behavior and mechanical property of molecular crystals simultaneously via supramolecular salt strategy is rarely reported, which is very important to improve their photophysical behavior and softness for the fabrication of flexible light-emitting device. Herein, supramolecular salt approach has been successfully applied to synthesize two elastic organic fluorescent crystals (CMOH-Py-Cl and CMOH-Py-Br) derived from non-emissive and brittle pyridine-substituted coumarin derivative (CMOH-Py). Their elastic properties can be attributed to the prevalent presence of numerous weak interactions introduced by halogen atoms, which are beneficial to the absorption and release of mechanical energy. Furthermore, density functional theory (DFT) calculations demonstrated a narrowing of the HOMO–LUMO energy gaps from CMOH-Py to CMOH-Py-Cl/CMOH-Py-Br via supramolecular salt approach. Finally, the application of flexible crystal materials in the field of optical waveguides has been investigated. The transformation of crystals in terms of photophysical and mechanical properties, achieved by the supramolecular salt approach, offers novel insights into the design and construction of flexible crystalline materials, providing a new path for the development of next-generation smart materials.
- Supramolecular salt strategy,
- Flexible molecular crystals,
- Energy engineering,
- Optical property,
- Flexible visible optical waveguide
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