Wide-Color-Span: Blue-Shifted Thermochromic D-A-D Fluorophores for Ratiometric Temperature Sensing
- 1College of Information Technology, Jilin Engineering Research Center of Optoelectronic Materials and Devices, Jilin Normal University, Siping 136000, China
- 2Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Material Growth and Device Applications, Jilin Normal University, Changchun 130103, China
- 3State Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Resource Utilization, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun 130022, China
Abstract
Thermochromic fluorescent materials have significant application prospects in the field of temperature sensing. In this study, based on the donor–acceptor–donor (D-A-D) strategy, two fluorescent molecules, MPT-1 and MPT-2, with fluorenyl cores and methoxy phenothiazine as donors, were synthesized via the Buchwald–Hartwig C–N cross-coupling reaction, and their structures were confirmed by 1H NMR, 13C NMR and HRMS. Thermogravimetric analysis indicated that both compounds exhibited excellent thermal stability (Td = 377 °C, 413 °C). Aggregation-induced emission (AIE) experiments showed that the emission peak blue-shifted by approximately 42–44 nm with increasing aggregation. Temperature-dependent fluorescence studies indicated that from 80 K to 300 K, the emission peaks of both molecules shifted continuously from the yellow region to the blue region. The relative sensitivities of MPT-1 and MPT-2 were 2.5% K−1 and 2.19% K−1, respectively, with CIE ΔE shifts of 0.19 and 0.18. This study elucidates the thermochromic mechanism of D-A-D-type fluorescent molecules, confirms the tunability of their emission colour in response to temperature, and provides theoretical guidance and experimental reference for the design of novel thermochromic fluorescent materials and their applications in temperature sensing.
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BibTeX
@article{qin2026widecolorspan,
title = {{Wide-Color-Span: Blue-Shifted Thermochromic D-A-D Fluorophores for Ratiometric Temperature Sensing}},
author = {Zheng-Kun Qin and Chi Feng and Meiqi Tang and Yanfei Li and Qingao Zhang and Ruipeng Deng and Ming-Xing Song},
journal = {Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/molecules31193504},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13666673},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Wide-Color-Span: Blue-Shifted Thermochromic D-A-D Fluorophores for Ratiometric Temperature Sensing
AU - Zheng-Kun Qin
AU - Chi Feng
AU - Meiqi Tang
AU - Yanfei Li
AU - Qingao Zhang
AU - Ruipeng Deng
AU - Ming-Xing Song
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)
DO - 10.3390/molecules31193504
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13666673
AB - Thermochromic fluorescent materials have significant application prospects in the field of temperature sensing. In this study, based on the donor–acceptor–donor (D-A-D) strategy, two fluorescent molecules, MPT-1 and MPT-2, with fluorenyl cores and methoxy phenothiazine as donors, were synthesized via the Buchwald–Hartwig C–N cross-coupling reaction, and their structures were confirmed by 1H NMR, 13C NMR and HRMS. Thermogravimetric analysis indicated that both compounds exhibited excellent thermal stability (Td = 377 °C, 413 °C). Aggregation-induced emission (AIE) experiments showed that the emission peak blue-shifted by approximately 42–44 nm with increasing aggregation. Temperature-dependent fluorescence studies indicated that from 80 K to 300 K, the emission peaks of both molecules shifted continuously from the yellow region to the blue region. The relative sensitivities of MPT-1 and MPT-2 were 2.5% K−1 and 2.19% K−1, respectively, with CIE ΔE shifts of 0.19 and 0.18. This study elucidates the thermochromic mechanism of D-A-D-type fluorescent molecules, confirms the tunability of their emission colour in response to temperature, and provides theoretical guidance and experimental reference for the design of novel thermochromic fluorescent materials and their applications in temperature sensing.
SN - 1420-3049
ER -