Morphology study of light– and pH–responsive amphiphiles with DSA for detection of nitrobenzene derivatives

Abstract

Supramolecular molecular self–assemblies with 9, 10-distyrylanthracene (DSA) frameworks have good application prospects in fluorescent probes and optical materials owing to the unique AIE effect of the DSA unit. In this study, amphiphilic rod–coil molecules with rigid DSA parts and flexible oligoether chains were designed and synthesised, and their assembly capacities were investigated. The amphiphilic molecule with a lateral methyl unit in the coil branch formed worm–like supramolecular assemblies, while the molecule without lateral group self–assembled into an interwoven ribbon like structure in aqueous solution. This is due to noncovalent molecular interactions, such as the π–π stacking interaction of the rigid segments for the former or the hydrophilic–hydrophobic effect of molecules in the aqueous solution for the latter. Interestingly, under irradiation with 365 nm UV light, the original UV absorption of the molecule decreased and fluorescence quenching occurred, accompanied by a decrease in the size of the original aggregates, which became more apparent with as irradiation time increased, indicating the presence of photo-degradation. These molecular morphologies were also significantly influenced by the pH of the aqueous solution and produced nanoparticles of various sizes. Furthermore, we investigated the adsorption capacity of nitro compounds and found that molecular aggregates could be used for the detection of nitroaromatic compounds with strong electron-withdrawing groups.