Reproducible on-off switching of solid-state luminescence by controlling molecular packing through heat-mode interconversion

Organic luminescent solids are attracting increasing interest in various fields of application. Modification or alteration of the chemical structures of their component molecules is the most common approach for tuning their luminescence properties. However, for dynamic tuning or switching of solid-state luminescence with high efficiency and reproducibility successful examples are limited as chemical reactions in the solid state frequently encounter insufficient conversion, one-way reactions or loss of their luminescence properties. One promising approach is to control the luminescence properties by altering the mode of solid-state molecular packing without chemical reactions. Here, we show that 2,2':6',2'-terpyridine, practically non-luminescent in the form of amorphous solid or needle crystal, shows strong blue luminescence upon formation of a plate crystal. Efficient and reproducible on-off switching of solid-state luminescence is demonstrated by heat-mode interconversion between the plate and needle crystals. Because alteration of the mode of molecular packing does not require chemical reactions, the present findings would open the way for the development of novel organic luminescent solids that can be switched on and off by external thermal stimuli.