Sequential-Stimuli Induced Stepwise-Response of Pyridylpyrenes.

Stimuli-responsive, especially multi-stimuli-responsive materials can sense external stimuli such as light, heat, and force, have shown great potentials in drug delivery, data storage, encryption, energy-harvesting, and artificial intelligence. Conventional multi-stimuli-responsive materials are sensitive to each independent stimulus, causing losses in the diversity and accuracy of the identification for practical application. Herein, we report a unique phenomenon of sequential-stimuli induced stepwise-response generated from elaborately designed single-component organic materials, which shows large bathochromic shifts up to 5800 cm -1 under sequential stimuli of force and light. In contrast to multi-stimuli-responsive materials, the response of these materials strictly relies on the sequence of stimuli, allowing logicality, rigidity, and accuracy integrated into one single-component material. The molecular keypad lock was built based on these materials, pointing promising future of this logical response for significant practical applications. This breakthrough gives a new drive to the classical stimuli-responsibility, and provides a fundamental design strategy for new generations of high-performance stimuli-responsive materials. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.