Light-Responsive Proton Conductor: Record High Gain of Proton Conductivity Achieved by Photoinduced Electron-Transfer Strategy

摘要

Open AccessCCS ChemistryRESEARCH ARTICLE1 Nov 2021Light-Responsive Proton Conductor: Record High Gain of Proton Conductivity Achieved by Photoinduced Electron-Transfer Strategy Xiu-Shuang Xing†, Cai Sun†, Lu Liu, Ming-Sheng Wang and Guo-Cong Guo Xiu-Shuang Xing† State Key Laboratory of Structural Chemistry, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002 Henan Key Laboratory of New Optoelectronic Functional Materials, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Anyang Normal University, Anyang 455000 †X.-S. Xing and C. Sun contributed equally to this work.Google Scholar More articles by this author , Cai Sun† State Key Laboratory of Structural Chemistry, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002 State Key Laboratory of Photocatalysis on Energy and Environment, College of Chemistry, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350108 Fujian Science & Technology Innovation Laboratory for Optoelectronic Information of China, Fuzhou, Fujian 350108 †X.-S. Xing and C. Sun contributed equally to this work.Google Scholar More articles by this author , Lu Liu State Key Laboratory of Structural Chemistry, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002 Google Scholar More articles by this author , Ming-Sheng Wang *Corresponding author: E-mail Address: [email protected] State Key Laboratory of Structural Chemistry, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002 Fujian Science & Technology Innovation Laboratory for Optoelectronic Information of China, Fuzhou, Fujian 350108 Google Scholar More articles by this author and Guo-Cong Guo State Key Laboratory of Structural Chemistry, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002 Fujian Science & Technology Innovation Laboratory for Optoelectronic Information of China, Fuzhou, Fujian 350108 Google Scholar More articles by this author https://doi.org/10.31635/ccschem.021.202000610 SectionsSupplemental MaterialAboutAbstractPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail Light-responsive proton conductors might find applications in both traditional fields (fuel cells, chemical sensors, bio-ionic functions, etc.) and modern high-speed switchable smart systems (Internet of things, robotics, etc.). Previous synthetic methods resulted in low switching contrasts (<two times) or they tended to be limited significantly in solid matrixes due to large structural changes. The photoinduced electron-transfer (PIET) method avoids the influence of stereo space in solid matrixes and capable of achieving high switching contrasts. For the first time, we applied the PIET strategy to design light-responsive proton conductors to achieve the hitherto largest gain of proton conductivity (ca. 54 times) for light-responsive proton conductors in one crystalline photochromic viologen-based H-bonded supramolecule. The weakening of hydrogen-bonding interactions in the proton-transport path after PIET accounted for an increased proton conductivity. These findings would inspire the exploration of photon conductors that display higher proton conductivities or switchable smart systems with high contrasts. Download figure Download PowerPoint Introduction Proton conductors attract extensive attention for applications in fuel cells, chemical sensors, and bio-ionic functions.1–3 Current research endeavors mainly focus on achieving high conductivity in crystalline materials with H-bonded networks such as coordination polymers (CPs) and metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) by encapsulation of proton carriers, pore surface functionalization, defect introduction, and so on.4–12 However, due to the development and stimulation of high-tech industries such as the Internet of things and robotics, regular p