Design and synthesis of trichromatic [2]catenane molecules for electronic paper display

Interlocked molecules, such as catenanes and rotaxanes, have been used to create novel functional devices. In this present study, we are proposing a tristable, trichromatic [2]catenane composed of one macrocycle containing three stations, i.e., tetrathiafulvalene (TTF), benzidine (BZ), and 1,5-dioxynaphthalene (DNP) units, which is interlocked with the cyclobis(paraquat)-p-phenylene tetracationic cyclophane (CBPQT ⁴⁺). We expect the catenane to show red, green and blue colors when the CBPQT ⁴⁺ is on DNP, TTF and BZ stations, respectively. The trichromatic and long-lived tristable states of this design potentially offers cost saving for display technology.