Color Coding Molecular Environment
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There are two characteristics of this system which makes it outstanding. First is the ability to change from nonplanar V-shape to a planar form in excited state, allowing for dual fluorescence. Secondly the nesting ability of the V-shaped molecules is unique and provides the necessary structure to emit the third color.
In a basic sense the molecule will maintain one of three forms, the V-shape, flat, or stacked V-shape. The form the molecule takes depends entirely on its environment. It will bend into the V-shape and emit a blue light when trapped in a polymer, lie flat and glow green when dissolved in organic solvent, and stack multi-layers and emit a red hue when crystalized.
Temperature and pressure also affect the molecule’s change in shape and so the colors can serve to identify many aspects of their environment. This bio-molecule invention is so unique that it may be used as the groundwork strategy for future molecular sensors.