A Chameleon AIEgen with Quintuple yet Controllable Thermal/Photo Switch for Advanced Information Encryption

Seeking new methods to realize multiple fluorescence changes in a single luminogenic system is of great im-portance for both chemistry and bionics research. However, due to the lack of proper strategies and functional motifs, novel chameleon luminogens with multiple switching and controllable models is still scarce. Herein, we reported a chromone-based aggregation-induced emission luminogen called Z-CDPM, which exhibited quintuple yet controllable thermochromic or pho-tochromic behavior under different conditions. Specifically, five different reactions were involved: (i) reversible Z/E isomer-ization and irreversible cyclization and elimination under thermal treatment, and (ii) photorearrangment of Z-CDPM and its thermal cyclized product DPXDC under UV irradiation. All single crystals were successfully obtained and these reactivities and reaction pathways were confirmed experimentally and theoretically. Accordingly, multiple-colored images and a quick response code with free fixing and erasing capabilities were developed for advanced information encryption. This work thus provides new sights into the design of multiresponsive luminogens and multifunctional systems.