Unravelling the crystallization mechanism of trinuclear Au complexes through crystal size-dependent luminescence

Abstract

The trinuclear Au complex, DT4, demonstrates room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) in the crystalline state, along with size-dependent polymorphism. The phase transition between the crystal polymorphs of DT4 can be directly observed in real time during crystal growth through changes in RTP color. This study aims to elucidate the crystallization mechanism of DT4, focusing specifically on determining the critical particle size at which crystal-to-crystal phase transitions occur during crystal growth.