University of Missouri researchers have created a single solid material that responds differently depending on what it’s exposed to. Shine light on it, and it changes from yellow to white, an indication of a chemical reaction. Heat it, and it undergoes a different chemical reaction. Scratch the surface, and it flashes blue.

The discovery, now published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition, shows how researchers can build multiple behaviors into a single material by controlling how its molecules are arranged.

“When you look at a solid, you might assume there’s not much going on,” said Kristin Hutchins, an associate professor of chemistry in Mizzou’s College of Arts and Science and a researcher with the MU Materials Science and Engineering Institute. “But at the molecular level, we can build in possibilities that aren’t obvious from the outside.”