A Molecule Of Many Colors-With rigid wings and a flexible core, a new compound can switch between two shapes and glow one of three colors.

 

Flexible And Fluorescent

A molecule combining rigid anthraceneimide wings and a flexible cyclooctatetraene core switches between a flat and a bent V shape. The R groups are either hydrogens or n-butyl groups.

Credit: J. Am. Chem. Soc.

A Molecule Of Many Colors

Organic Chemistry: With rigid wings and a flexible core, a new compound can switch between two shapes and glow one of three colors.

A new, flexible, multi-ring organic compound fluoresces red, green, or blue depending on its environment (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2013, DOI: 10.1021/ja404198h). The molecule’s combination of rigid wings and a flexible center could serve as a general design strategy for molecular sensors, the researchers say.

The molecule, developed by a team of researchers, including Shohei Saito, Stephan Irle, and Shigehiro Yamaguchi of Nagoya University in Japan, has two rigid anthraceneimide wings on opposite sides of a floppy cyclooctatetraene core

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http://cen.acs.org/articles/91/web/2013/06/Molecule-Colors.html