Synthesis of New Luminescent Materials and Application as Sensitive Chemosensors

Abstract

Two new tetraphenylethene derivatives were designed and synthesized through Suzuki coupling reaction. The absorption, fluorescence properties, and application were studied. All compounds showed similar absorption pattern in pure THF, but exhibited significant red shifts with increasing the number of thienyl rings, indicating an extended π-electron delocalization from the TPE nucleus, brought about by the thienyl substituents. The new materials exhibit the novel feature of aggregation-induced emission, as a result of the twisted TPE units, which restrict the intramolecular rotation and reduce the ππ stacking. Photoluminescence of these chromophores ranges from 400 to 700 nm. The new materials can detect the volatile organic compounds with relatively high sensitivity in the aggregate state, which indicates the new materials can work as sensitive chemosensors.