Phase transition and vapochromism in molecular assemblies of a polymorphic zinc(II) Schiff-base complex.

This paper reports for the first time the irreversible thermally induced phase transition, accompanied by color change, and the vapochromic behavior of an amphiphilic, Lewis acidic Zn(II) Schiff-base complex, through detailed X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry, and optical absorption studies. The unprecedented irreversible phase transition for such kind of complexes is associated with a thermal, lamellar-to-hexagonal columnar structural transition, which involves a different arrangement of each molecular unit within the assembled structure, H- and J-type aggregates, respectively, responsible for the thermochromic behavior. The vapochromism, investigated either in powder samples or in thermally annealed cast films, is related to the formation of 1:1 adducts upon exposure to vapors of strong Lewis bases and implies dramatic optical absorption variations and naked-eye observation of the change in color from red-brown to red. The chemisorption process is fast, completely reversible, reproducible, and selective for amines. The reversible switching of the chemisorption-desorption process in cast films is demonstrated by successive cycles, amine exposure and subsequent heating, by monitoring the substantial optical absorption changes in the visible region. Vapochromism of this material can potentially be used to detect vapors of volatile amines.