An Electrochemical Color-Switchable RGB Dye: Tristable [2]Catenane

We propose a design for an electrochemically driven RGB dye based on a tristable [2]catenane, in which the color of the molecule can be switched between Red, Green, and Blue by merely changing voltage. Based on DFT calculations, we conclude that the tristable [2]catenane should consist of a CBPQT^(4+) ring interlocked with a polyether macrocyle containing DNP (red), TTF (green), and FBZD (blue) units as the tunable RGB color-generating donors. Thus, at controllable voltages 0, V_1, and V_2, the [2]catenane is expected to display green, blue, and red colors, respectively. The advent of these RGB tristable molecules may have potential applications in low cost paperlike electronic displays.