Aggregation-induced emission of 1-methyl-1,2,3,4,5-pentaphenylsilole

Fluorescence-enhanced organogels and mesomorphic superstructure based on hydrazine derivatives

New low-molecular-mass organic gelators (LMOGs) bearing hydrazine linkage and end-capped by phenyl, namely 1,4-bis[(3,4-bisalkoxyphenyl)hydrozide]phenylene (BPH-n, n = 4, 6, 8, 10), were designed and synthesized. These organogelators have shown great ability to gel a variety of organic solvents to form stable organogels with the critical gelation concentration as low as 8.7 x 10(-4) mol L(-1) (0.06 wt %). The formed gel has a high gel-sol transition temperature (T(gel)) at low gelation concentration. Aggregation-induced emission (AIE) has been observed after gelation though conventional chromophore units not incorporated in BPH-n. The fluorescence quantum yields of xerogel are 2 orders higher than that of dilute solution. In addition, the BPH-n (n = 6, 8, 10) exhibited thermotropic hexagonal column (Col(h)) mesophase, which are stable at room temperature as revealed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), polarized optical microscopy (POM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies.

Aggregation-induced emission enhancement in organic ion pairs

We present here a new example of aggregation-induced emission enhancement (AIEE), which involves an original mechanism based on the formation of organic ion pairs. The phenol 4-hydroxy-7-nitrobenzoxadiazole (NBDOH) is dissociated in water at pH 5.0 to give the corresponding phenolate, which is poorly fluorescent in this medium. We bring evidence that fluorescence quenching is due to an interaction with water molecules. In the presence of a relatively bulky ammonium salt, specifically tetrabutylammonium bromide (TBAB), NBDOH forms a hydrophobic salt, TBA(+)NBDO(-). This has no influence on the fluorescence of the anion as long as the salt is dissolved. However, the salt readily crystallizes in the medium and transition to the solid state is accompanied by a strong increase in fluorescence intensity. This effect can be explained by two reasons. The anions are protected from water molecules, and above all, the presence of the bulky cations prevents parallel-stacking of the anions, thus leading to an original molecular arrangement that is favorable to fluorescence. As the nature of the organic cation may be easily changed, the versatility of the system is very interesting for the design of new organic micro- and nanoparticles that must be fluorescent in the solid state, possibly in an aqueous environment.

Novel fluorescent pH sensors and a biological probe based on anthracene derivatives with aggregation-induced emission characteristics

Three functionalized 9,10-distyrylanthracene (DSA) derivatives, namely, 9,10-bis(4-hydroxystyryl)anthracene (2), 9,10-bis{4-[2-(diethylamino)ethoxy]styryl}anthracene (4), and 9,10-bis{4-[2-(N,N,N-triethylammonium)ethoxy]styryl}anthracene dibromide (5), were synthesized and their fluorescence properties were investigated. The three DSA derivatives possess a typical aggregation-induced emission (AIE) property (i.e., they are nonluminescent in dilute solutions but are efficiently fluorescent as induced by molecular aggregation). Different AIE properties were tuned through molecular structure control. Dye 2 is a phenol-moiety-containing compound, which shows aggregation at pH values smaller than 10, resulting in a high fluorescence intensity. Thus, dye 2 has a pK(a) of 9.94. 4 is an amine-containing compound that starts to aggregate at slightly basic conditions, resulting in a pK(a) of 6.90. Dye 5 is an ammonium-salt-containing compound. Because it is very soluble in water, this compound has no AIE phenomenon but can interact strongly with protein or DNA to amplify its emission. Therefore, 5 is a fluorescent turn "on" biological probe for protein and DNA detection and it is also selective, which works for native BSA and ct DNA but not their denatured forms. Therefore, we not only developed a few new compounds showing the AIE phenomena but also controlled the AIE through environmental stimulation and demonstrated that the new AIE molecules are suitable for pH and biomacromolecule sensing.

Glucose-based fluorescent low-molecular mass compounds: creation of simple and versatile supramolecular gelators

Five novel glucose-based naphthalene derivatives with linkers containing hydrazine, ethylenediamine, 1,3-propanediamine, 1,4-butanediamine, and 1,6-hexanediamine, respectively (1, 2, 3, 4, and 5) were designed and prepared. The gelation test revealed the following points: (1) within the 30 solvents tested, 1 gels water only; (2) in contrast, 2 gels not only water, but also 11 of the organic solvents tested, a typical "ambidextrous gelator"; (3) 3, 4, and 5, however, gel organic solvents only, and the numbers of solvents gelled are 11, 11 and 13, respectively. Clearly, these compounds are effective low-molecular mass gelators, and show transitions from a low-molecular mass hydrogelator to an ambidextrous gelator and then to low-molecular mass organogelators with a slight increase in the length of the spacers. Interestingly, 5 is a super gelator to acetonitrile, of which the minimum gelation concentration is only 0.07%, w/v. The morphology, microstructure and molecular aggregation of the system strongly depend on the transition, as revealed by SEM, contact angle, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and XRD measurements. More interestingly, an aggregation-induced enhanced emission was observed along with gelation. Furthermore, the system appeared as a supramolecular chiroptical switch in the sol-gel process that is the chirality disappeared when the gel was heated to solution, whereas it reappeared when cooled to a gel.

Development of tetraphenylethylene-based fluorescent oligosaccharide probes for detection of influenza virus

Tetraphenylethylene (TPE) derivatives have strong fluorescence in aggregated state. We designed and synthesized a tetraphenylethylene derivative bearing alkyne groups which were used for combination by click chemistry. The new TPE compound bearing alkyne groups was used to synthesize fluorescence oligosaccharide probes which have lactosyl and 6′-sialyllactosyl moieties as ligands. We found that the TPE compounds bearing lactosyl and 6′-sialyllactosyl moieties were useful for detection of RCA120 and SSA lectins, respectively. Moreover, we have shown that TPE-based fluorescent oligosaccharide probe bearing 6′-sialyllactose moiety can be utilized as a “turn-on” fluorescent sensor for detection of influenza virus.

A superamplification effect in the detection of explosives by a fluorescent hyperbranched poly(silylenephenylene) with aggregation-enhanced emission characteristics

Fluorescence of a hyperbranched poly(silylenephenylene) is weakened with increasing quencher concentration in an exponential fashion, giving an extremely high quenching constant and making the polymer a highly sensitive chemosensor for explosive detection.

Synthesis, structure, photoluminescence and photoreactivity of 2,3-diphenyl-4-neopentyl-1-silacyclobut-2-enes

A series of six 2,3-diphenyl-4-neopentyl-1-silacyclobut-2-enes with different 1,1-substituents has been prepared and characterized by single-crystal X-ray crystallography. These compounds possess a cis-stilbene-like chromophore involving also the four-membered ring, and exhibit a photophysical behavior similar to that of previously reported 1,2-diphenyl-cycloalkenes. This chromophore system is confirmed by a theoretical investigation of the electronic structure and excitation spectra. The absorption and photoluminescence of selected derivatives were studied in solution, as solid powder samples, and in doped-polymer thin films. In well-dissolved solution, the silacyclobutenes show only very weak fluorescence emission (quantum yield approximately 0.1%), due to competition with photochemical and non-radiative photophysical relaxation. When the solubility is degraded in a poor (aqueous) solvent, the formation of nanoscale aggregates leads to a significant enhancement factor in the emission intensity, due to the suppression of the photoreactivity in the more rigid molecular environment, although the quantum yield still remains below a few percent. In the solid-state, however, photoreactivity is completely suppressed leading to fluorescence quantum efficiencies of 8-23% depending on the 1,1-substituents, which demonstrates these compounds' potential as chromophores for condensed-phase luminescence applications. Two dominant competing photochemical reactions have been identified in solution (for excitation in the lowest-energy absorption band, >260 nm), which are analogous to related (sila-)cyclobutenes and stilbenoids. The first involves ring-opening due to cleavage of the 1,4-Si-C bond to form metastable silabutadienes, which was confirmed by isolating the stereospecifically formed allylsilane which results from a secondary reaction with trapping agents such as methanol or water. The second photochemical reaction involves ring closure of the 2,3-diphenyl substructure to form a dihydrophenanthrene analogue, which was confirmed by isolating the phenanthrene derivative that results following subsequent hydrogen abstraction in the presence of oxygen. Measurements of the silacyclobutenes in doped-polymer thin films reveal a spectroscopic behavior ranging from that in solution to the nano-aggregate case as the silacyclobutene dopant concentration is increased.