Dual-Emissive γ-[Cu₄I₈]^4– Enables Luminescent Thermochromism in an Organic–Inorganic Hybrid Copper(I) Halide

Abstract

A highly luminescent (C 13 H 28 N 2 ) 2 Cu 4 I 8 single crystal containing isolated γ-[Cu 4 I 8 ] 4− anionic cluster was synthesized without the use of unsaturated cations. To the best of our knowledge, compounds bearing such like anions are not dual-emitting under UV excitation. However, dual emission does occur in (C 13 H 28 N 2 ) 2 Cu 4 I 8 . Moreover, the emission bands were found to be temperature-sensitive, allowing tuning of the emission colors from blue (0.19, 0.20) to green (0.33, 0.47) in the Commission International de L' Eclairage (CIE) chromaticity coordinates. Remarkably, the color could be restored on returning to the initial temperature, confirming an efficient and reversible luminescent thermochromic effect in (C 13 H 28 N 2 ) 2 Cu 4 I 8 . The origin of this excellent optical performance is discussed, and the difference in the mechanism with the dual-emissive Cu(I) halide complexes is also elucidated. Overall, our work provides a promising way to achieve efficient luminescent thermochromism. The developed (C 13 H 28 N 2 ) 2 Cu 4 I 8 represents one of the viable alternatives for eco-friendly luminescent thermochromic materials.