Achieving red/near-infrared mechanoresponsive luminescence turn-on: mechanically disturbed metastable nanostructures in organic solids.

Two slightly twisted A-π-D-π-A molecules were prepared to demonstrate that the red/near-infrared mechanoresponsive luminescence turn-on behaviors could be realized through mechanically disturbing their weakly/non-emissive metastable nanostructures, giving emissive amorphous aggregates with λem = 620 nm, ΦF = 12% (h-DIPT) and λem = 700 nm, ΦF = 10% (DIPT), respectively.