Jing Li, Rong Miao* and Yu Fang*. PhotoAggregate 2026, 1, e70001. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pag3.70001

Multicolor luminescent materials have attracted significant attention for their potential applications in fluorescence sensing, information encryption, optical anti-counterfeiting, and display technologies, owing to their diverse and tunable optical properties. However, conventional multicolor luminescent systems often rely on multiple emissive components and can be affected by variations in component ratios, phase separation, differences in photochemical stability, and uncontrolled energy transfer, all of which can reduce emission stability. By contrast, single-component systems can generate multiple emission colors by modulating the excited-state behavior, molecular conformation, and aggregation state of a single compound. Their emission can be influenced by relaxation pathways associated with different excited states, as well as by conformational changes such as molecular rotation and bending. In the aggregated state, intermolecular interactions and packing arrangements further influence luminescence properties. Although considerable progress has been made in this field, the relationships among excited-state dynamics, molecular conformation, and aggregate structure are not yet fully understood. This mini-review summarizes recent advances in single-component multicolor luminescence, covering its underlying mechanisms, design strategies, and functional applications. It highlights the interplay among excited-state dynamics, molecular conformation, and intermolecular packing, and discusses the remaining challenges and future prospects for the rational design of new luminescent materials.

Written at the invitation of PhotoAggregate, this review was published in the journal’s inaugural issue.

First Author: Li Jing, doctoral candidate, Shaanxi Normal University

Correspondence Authors: Prof. Fang Yu, A/Prof. Miao Rong, Shaanxi Normal University

Full Text Link: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pag3.70001