Mechanically flexible luminescent organic crystals have become an essential part of modern technologies like optoelectronics, while photoluminescent crystals, abte to transform light energy into mechanical motions, are a promising choice for actuating and photonic devices. Following our continuing efforts toward the synthesis of functional and flexible crystals, quantitative structural mapping can rationalize the change in phosphorescence emission, as a function of the flexibility of elastic single (organic) crystals and how the photosalient behavior of room temperature phosphorescent (organoboron-based) crystals, is revealed in terms of crystal-to-crystal [2+2] cycloaddition reactions as the driving force. 

Here, we aim to fabricate/enhance mechanical flexibility (elastic/plastic) and photoluminescence properties of pure organic crystalline materials through cocrystal engineering and rationalize the underlying mechanisms at the supramolecular level by structural mapping via single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. In particular, polymerization of monomeric, visible light-harvesting species, in a single-crystal-to-single-crystal fashion, through crystal engineering will be the focus of the research.