An electrochemical color-switchable RGB dye: Tristable [2]catenane

We propose a design for an electrochemically driven RGB dye based on a tristable [2]catenane, in which the color of the molecule can be switched between Red, Green, and Blue by merely changing voltage. Based on DFT calculations, we conclude that the tristable [2]catenane should consist of a CBPQT⁴⁺ ring interlocked with a polyether macrocyle containing DNP (red), TTF (green), and FBZD (blue) units as the tunable RGB color-generating donors. Thus, at controllable voltages 0, V₁, and V₂, the [2]catenane is expected to display green, blue, and red colors, respectively. The advent of these RGB tristable molecules may have potential applications in low cost paperlike electronic displays.