Smart organic cocrystals: Recent advances and perspectives

Smart organic cocrystals, a new class of functional materials that are capable of detecting environmental changes and responding through reversible or observable transformations, have garnered significant interest in the scientific community. However, despite the rapid progress in this field, a comprehensive review that systematically summarizes recent advancements and offers forward-looking insights is still lacking. This review categorizes organic smart cocrystals based on different stimuli sources and highlights representative studies from the past years, covering mechanical force, light, temperature, vapor, acid/base, and humidity stimuli. It focuses on the underlying mechanisms and applications of each stimulus type from the dual perspectives of molecular design strategies and structure-property relationships. Finally, it discusses the challenges, future directions, and prospects of organic stimuli-responsive cocrystals, aiming to facilitate their transition into real-world applications.