Multicolor emission from non-conjugated polymers based on a single switchable boron chromophore.

Multicolor emissive and responsive materials are highly attractive due to their potential applications in various fields, and polymers are preferred for their good processability and high stability. Herein, we report a series of new polymers based on a methacrylate monomer containing a switchable boron chromophore. In spite of the unconjugated nature, interestingly, the homopolymers from this monomer display rare multicolor fluorescence in solution that is highly dependent on the degree of polymerization (DP). With an ascending DP, the local concentration of the chromophore increases, leading to a higher propensity for switching the blue emitting tricoordinate boron chromophore to the red emitting tetracoordinate one. The homopolymers also display temperature and solvent-dependent emission colour change. Furthermore, pure white-light emission could be achieved in various solvents by precisely tuning the homopolymer molecular weight, or in films/solid state by copolymerizing the emissive boron monomer with non-emissive monomers in an appropriate ratio.