All‐in‐One Photoacid Generators with Green/Red‐light Responsiveness and Cooperative Functionality
Huichao Guo, Zhiwei Zhang, Yuhao Chen, Haochen Yang, Long Deng, Jinghong Dai, Muyu Cong, Bangsen Wang, Da‐Hui Qu, Weihong Zhu, Junji Zhang, He Tian
Abstract
Photoacid generators (PAGs) are invaluable molecular tools that exhibited tremendous potential in emerging interdisciplinary researches of life-science, nanotechnology and smart materials. However, current PAGs are primarily mono-functional in terms of acid generation and rely on UV/deep-blue light excitation, posing a fundamental hurdle to their broader adoption. Developing cooperatively functioned PAGs with long-wavelength light responsiveness presents a formidable challenge due to the absence of suitable molecular scaffolds. Here, we introduce a newly-developed perylene bisimides PAG motif (PBI-PAG) that integrates desired multi-functionality and visible-light photo-reactivity. Taking advantages of characteristic opto-electronic properties of PBI scaffold, PBI-PAGs are capable of quantitative releasing (>99 %) a palette of acids upon green/red light (560-605 nm) excitation. Concurrently, a photo-generated counterpart is functioned as a photo-sensitizer that could perform cooperatively with acid as an anti-metastasis cancer therapy agent. These two processes constitute the first example of a cooperatively functioned PAG operated at substrate-adaptive wavelengths.