A multi-input/multi-output molecular system based on lanthanide(iii) complexes

Developing multi-input/multi-output (MIMO) molecular systems for information processing is of great significance in sophisticated human-made and natural processes. Herein, we present a novel design strategy of incorporating two azobenzene derivatives into a lanthanide(iii)-diethylenetriaminepentaacetate bisamide framework to construct a lanthanide complex-based MIMO molecular system. As a proof of concept, the terbium(iii) complex (TbL3) exhibits three types of output signals, i.e., absorption, steady-state fluorescence, and time-resolved luminescence, with multiaddressable states in response to four kinds of input stimuli such as near-infrared light, water, pH, and reducing agent, based on the synergistic effect between Tb(iii) coordination center and azobenzene moieties. The present work may pave the way for further development of multi-stimuli-responsive lanthanide(iii) complexes and MIMO molecular systems.