Polymorph-Dependent Luminescence Response to Acid Vapors and Its Application in Safety Protection of File Information

A Schiff base, (E)-1-(phenylimino)methyl-2-hydroxylnaphthalene (PIHN), was found to form both nonluminescent and luminescent polymorphs. A unique luminescence "turn on" behavior was observed when the nonluminescent polymorph was fumed with the vapor of aliphatic acids with two or three carbons in the main chain, while the luminescent polymorphs almost did not change the emission color under the same condition. As we know, this is the first report on polymorph-dependent acid response which discloses the influence of crystalline phase on acid-responsive behavior. The formation of hydrogen bonds between PIHN and aliphatic acid is proposed to be the reason for the responsive behavior of the nonemissive polymorph, and such a mechanism is different from the common protonation mechanism. A novel safety protection method of file information has been developed based on the polymorph-dependent luminescence response of PIHN. In addition, we disclose that a crystalline form could show multiple responsive behaviors toward different acids, which benefits the further design of novel acid sensors, such as the sensors that can qualitatively analyze the species of the acid source in an acidic environment.