We report O−H----S hydrogen-bond (Hbond) formation and its excited-state intramolecular H-bond on/off reaction unveiled by room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP). In this seminal work, this phenomenon is demonstrated with 7-hydroxy-2,2-dimethyl-2,3-dihydro-1Hindene-1-thione (DM-7HIT), which possesses a strong polar (hydroxy)-dispersive (thione) type H-bond. Upon excitation, DM-7HIT exhibits anomalous dual RTP with maxima at 550 and 685 nm. This study found that the lowest lying excited state (S 1 ) of DM-7HIT is a sulfur nonbonding (n) to π* transition, which undergoes O−H bond flipping from S 1 (nπ*) to the non-H-bonded S′ 1 (nπ*) state, followed by intersystem crossing and internal conversion to populate the T′ 1 (nπ*) state. Fast H-bond on/off switching then takes place between T′ 1 (nπ*) and T 1 (nπ*), forming a pre-equilibrium that affords both the T′ 1 (nπ*, 685 nm) and T 1 (nπ*, 550 nm) RTP. The generality of the sulfur H-bond on/off switching mechanism, dubbed a molecule wiper, was rigorously evaluated with a variety of other H-bonded thiones, and these results open a new chapter in the chemistry of hydrogen bonds.
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