Approaching an adjustable organic thermochromic luminophore library via the synergistic effects between structure-related molecular dynamics and aggregation-related luminescence

The building of a mature material library is critically important for the practical application of any smart responsive optoelectronic materials. For thermochromic luminophores, as an important category of smart materials, however, it remains challenging to achieve this target due to the complexity and limitations of existing construction mechanisms. Here, we propose a simple and efficient strategy for developing a thermochromic luminophore library by exploiting the synergistic effects between peripheral flexible chain-related molecular dynamics and molecular aggregation structure-related luminescence properties of donor–acceptor–donor type luminophores. The strategy provided herein facilitates the construction of a prototype thermochromic material library of 13 dyes with a luminescence color-switching window covering the whole visible region and a wide temperature-response range from 35 °C to 190 °C. Based on this material library and a nano ink preparation method, reversible information displays and twelfth-level data encryptions based on temperature changes are demonstrated.