Abstract
The Tetraphenylethylene (TPE) based dumbbell shaped molecules TPE-Pi, TPE-Su, TPE-Az, and TPE-Se were synthesised bearing odd-even alkyl chains containing 7, 8, 9 and 10 carbons respectively. These molecules reveal typical Aggregation Induced Emission (AIE) behaviour. The influence of the odd or even alkyl chain length was shown by studying the morphology of self-assembled nanostructures formed in a range of tetrahydrofuran (THF)/water solvent systems. For example, with a water fraction of 80%, TPE derivatives with odd alkyl chains (TPE-Pi and TPE-Az) self-assembled into nanosphere structures, while TPE-Su with 8 alkyl chains formed microbelts and TPE-Se with 10 alkyl chains aggregated into flower-like superstructures. These TPE derivatives also revealed interesting mechanochromic properties upon grinding, fuming and heating, which reveal the importance of molecular stacking in the crystal structure to the luminescent properties of the aggregates .The mechanochromic properties of TPE-Pi, TPE-Su, and TPE-Az were also demonstrated by the process of grounding, fuming, and heating.
Highlights
Self-assembly of fluorescent π-conjugated small molecules into well-defined 1D, 2D and 3D nanostructures has proven to be an interesting strategy for fabricating functional devices with potential applications in chemosensors, biosensing, nanotechnology, biotechnology and optoelectronics [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8].A disadvantage of conventional organic fluorophores is that they show aggregation-induced quenching (ACQ) effects due to the formation of excimers or exciplexes [9]
We recently reported the self-assembly of a dumbbell-shaped TPE derivative connecting to an
We recently reported the self-assembly of a dumbbell-shaped TPE derivative connecting to an alkyl chain via an amide bond [34]
Summary
Self-assembly of fluorescent π-conjugated small molecules into well-defined 1D, 2D and 3D nanostructures has proven to be an interesting strategy for fabricating functional devices with potential applications in chemosensors, biosensing, nanotechnology, biotechnology and optoelectronics [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8]. A disadvantage of conventional organic fluorophores is that they show aggregation-induced quenching (ACQ) effects due to the formation of excimers or exciplexes [9]. AIE fluorophore emits upon aggregation, whereas it is non-emissive when dissolved well in solution [11]. AIE fluorophores are an ideal building block for fabricating nanostructures with luminescent properties [12].
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