Sub-10-nm ordered structure and mechanochromism property of polyhedral oligosilsesquioxane tethered tetraphenylethylene

The construction of highly ordered nanostructure plays an important role in realizing the specific functions of organic materials. However, it remains challenging to design photoelectric materials with sub-10-nm nanostructures. Herein, a novel tetraphenylethylene derivative tethered with polyhedral oligosilsesquioxane nanocages (TPE-BPOSS) was designed and synthesized. The experimental results reveal that the introduction of POSS nanocages endows TPE-BPOSS with a hierarchically sub-10-nm ordered structure composed of columnar phase of non-planar TPE cores and crystalline phase of POSS moieties. Moreover, due to the transition between the ordered and disordered structure, TPE-BPOSS can exhibit reversible mechanochromism property. It is speculated that incorporating POSS nanocages into different non-planar fluorophores may be a new strategy to prepare functional materials with sub-10-nm nanostructure and luminescent property.