Construction of stimuli-responsive materials based on charge transfer and electron transfer

The fusion of bipyridinium and their derivatives and metal ions to construct functional coordination compounds has attracted tremendous attention recently. Due to their advantages in easy modification, electron-deficient characteristic and photoelectrochemical activity, such compounds as smart stimuli-responsive materials, show a wide variety of intriguing applications including chromic response, switching, adsorption, sensing, magnet, and catalysis, etc. Based on the electron transfer (ET), charge transfer (CT) and their synergism, this review summarizes the latest research progress of our group in regulating the structure and stimuli-responsive function of pyridinium-based complexes in recent years. Finally, we provide further prospects for the development of pyridinium-based complexes in the field of multi-stimuli-responsive materials in the future.