Insight into Isomeric Effect on the Photoluminescence and Mechanoluminescence of Cyanostilbene Derivatives

Molecular structures, packings, and intermolecular interactions significantly affect the photophysical properties of organic luminogens. In this work, the photoluminescence (PL) and mechanoluminescence (ML) of two pairs of isomers, 1/2 and 3/4, were systematically explored. The fluorescence of crystals 1c and 4c is much brighter than that of their isomers 2c and 3c, respectively. Only 1c is ML-active among all four molecules. Single-crystal structural analysis revealed that isomerization of a substituent group affected their molecular packing and intermolecular interactions. Stronger intermolecular interaction and intact three-dimensional hydrogen-bonded networks were formed only in crystal 1c, which were essential for preventing slippage of molecular layers and generating ML; the other molecules were either lacking π–π interactions or C–H···π interactions. Theoretical calculation suggested that the energy barrier between the Franck–Condon (FC) structure and minimum energy crossing point (MECP) structure of 2/3 was much lower than that of 1/4. Nonradiative decay channels of molecules 2 and 3 were thus more easily activated, which led to their lower quantum yield.