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Radiochromic Hydrogen‐Bonded Organic Frameworks for X‐ray Detection
Author(s) -
Khanpour Mojtaba,
Deng WenZhou,
Fang ZhiBin,
Li YuLin,
Yin Qi,
Zhang AnAn,
Rouhani Farzaneh,
Morsali Ali,
Liu TianFu
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
chemistry – a european journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.687
H-Index - 242
eISSN - 1521-3765
pISSN - 0947-6539
DOI - 10.1002/chem.202101061
Subject(s) - materials science , photochromism , formic acid , ligand (biochemistry) , irradiation , optoelectronics , nanotechnology , chemistry , organic chemistry , physics , nuclear physics , biochemistry , receptor
Porous materials have been investigated as efficient photochromic platforms for detecting hazardous radiation, while the utilization of hydrogen bonded organic frameworks (HOFs) in this field has remained intact. Herein, two HOFs were synthesized through self‐assembly of tetratopic viologen ligand and formic acid (PFC‐25, PFC‐26), as a new class of “all‐organic” radiochromic smart material, opening a gate for HOFs in this field. PFC‐26 is active upon both X‐ray and UV irradiation, while PFC‐25 is only active upon X‐ray irradiation. The same building block yet different radiochromic behaviors of PFC‐25 and PFC‐26 allow us to gain a deep mechanistic understanding of the factors that control the detection specificity. Theoretical and experimental studies reveal that the degree of π‐conjugation of viologen ligand is highly related to the threshold energy of triggering a charge transfer, therefore being a vital factor for the particularity of radiochromic materials. Thanks to its convenient processibility, nanoparticle size, and UV silence, PFC‐25 can be further fabricated into a portable naked‐eye sensor for X‐ray detection, which shows obvious color change with the merits of high transmittance contrast, good sensitivity (reproducible dose threshold of 3.5 Gy), and excellent stability. The work exhibits the promising practical potentials of HOF materials in photochromic technology.