A platinum(II) molecular hinge with motions visualized by phosphorescence changes

With the current interest in the development of innovative artificial machineries and robotics at the molecular and nanoscale, there is an increasing demand for the strategic design of smart machineries that can have their motional states powered by subtle environmental changes and detectable by optical readout. Through an understanding of the relationship between the intriguing phosphorescence behaviors and molecular structures, an artificial platinum(II) molecular hinge with motions associated with visually appealing phosphorescence changes has been built, which can be opened or closed by rotary motion to give drastic phosphorescence color switching. Reversible motional switching has been demonstrated to be driven by solvent/temperature changes, paving the way to the development of a simple and efficient method for visualizing molecular motion.