Colored supramolecular charge-transfer host system using 10,10′-dihydroxy-9,9′-biphenanthryl and 2,5-disubstituted-1,4-benzoquinone

A colored charge-transfer (CT) host complex is formed using racemic (rac)-10,10′-dihydroxy-9,9′-biphenanthryl, which has a large and widely π-conjugated phenanthrene ring, as the electron donor and 2,5-disubstituted-1,4-benzoquinone as the electron acceptor. This CT host complex can include aromatic molecules as guests and its color and diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS) change according to the type of guest molecules included. Characteristically, it is possible to tune the color and DRS of the inclusion CT complex by changing the type of the component 2,5-disubstituted-1,4-benzoquinone.