The development of
reversible redox supramolecular gels capable
of concurrent luminescence switch and visible color change with the
facile redox process has always been an intriguing challenge. A redox-responsive
supramolecular lanthanide metallogel with strong luminescence and
yellow color is obtained via coordination interaction between 3,5-dinitrosalicylic
acid (DNSA) and europium (Eu3+). Upon the addition of TiO2 to the prepared gel (DNSA/Eu3+ gel), the oxidation
process of the gel (DNSA/Eu3+/TiO2 gel) can
be easily achieved by UV irradiation. The DNSA/Eu3+/TiO2 gel exhibits a concurrent reversible “on–off”
luminescence and color change in response to redox stimuli. The DNSA/Eu3+/TiO2 gel shows a concurrent quench of luminescence
and a color change from yellow to red when the gel was stimulated
by the reductant. Upon UV irradiation, the luminescence and color
of the reduced DNSA/Eu3+/TiO2 gel restored to
its initial state due to the strong oxidation ability of hydroxyl
radicals derived from photocatalytic oxidation of TiO2.
The results of UV–vis and mass spectroscopy indicated that
the reversible redox responsiveness of DNSA/Eu3+/TiO2 gel depends on the reversible oxidation–reduction
reactions of DNSA. Moreover, DNSA/Eu3+/TiO2 gel
remains stable because the morphology of the gel had no change during
the redox process. Exemplarily, the application of DNSA/Eu3+/TiO2 gels to achieve luminescent patterning was investigated.
The results demonstrated that the prepared metallogel has potential
applications in the fields of writable materials, anticounterfeiting,
sensors, and others.