Intramolecular dual hydrogen bonded fluorescent "turn-on" probe for Al3+ and HSO4- ions: Applications in real water samples and molecular keypad lock

Dual hydrogen bonded Schiff base containing unsymmetrical double proton transfer sites, one with imine bond (CN) and hydroxyl group (OH), and the other with benzimidazole and hydroxyl groups has been successfully synthesized. Probe 1 displayed intramolecular charge transfer and acts as a potential sensor for Al³⁺ and HSO₄^- ions. Probe 1 displayed two absorption peaks at 325 nm and 340 nm and an emission band at 435 nm upon excitation at 340 nm. Probe 1 behaves as a fluorescence "turn-on" chemosensor for both Al³⁺ and HSO₄^- ions in H₂O-CH₃OH solvent system. The proposed method allows the determination of Al³⁺ and HSO₄^- ions up to 39 nM and 23 nM at emission wavelength 385 nm and 390 nm, respectively. The binding behavior of probe 1 towards these ions is determined by the Job's plot method and ¹H NMR titrations. Probe 1 is used to construct a molecular keypad lock where the absorbance channel can be opened only in the presence of the correct sequence. Further, it is used for the quantitative determination of HSO₄^- ion in different real-field water samples.

A tetraphenylethene-based Schiff base AIEgen with a large Stokes shift as probe for highly sensitive and selective detection of aqueous Cu2+ ions and its application in cell imaging

In this work, an AIE-active tetraphenylethene-based Schiff base fluorescent probe 3 with a large Stokes shift (247 nm) was designed and synthesized. It was found that the aggregated probe 3 exhibited very high selectivity and anti-interference ability for Cu²⁺ in PBS buffer (70% f_w) through a fluorescence "turn-off" strategy. Job's plot and NMR analysis indicated the two phenolic hydroxyl groups of the benzene ring and the N atom (-CH=N-) on probe 3 interacted with Cu²⁺ ions in a 1:1 stoichiometric ratio. A comprehensive analysis of the Stern-Volmer and binding constant indicated a rather strong interaction between probe 3 and Cu²⁺ ions. Probe 3 illustrated excellent sensitivity toward Cu²⁺ under ppb level (4.5 nM) and achieved more than 95% recovery in river, lake and tap water toward estimation of Cu²⁺ ions in the analytical applications. Moreover, probe 3 was able to realize bioimaging of HepG2 cells and be quenched by intracellular Cu²⁺ ions, making it promising as a sensitive Cu²⁺ sensor for organisms.

Deciphering the Dynamics of Organic Nanoaggregates with AIEE Effect and Excited States: Lipophilic Benzothiadiazole Derivatives as Selective Cell Imaging Probes

An aggregation-induced emission enhancement (AIEE) effect in fluorescent lipophilic 2,1,3-benzothiadiazole (BTD) derivatives and their organic nanoaggregates were studied. A set of techniques such as single-crystal X-ray, dynamic light scattering (DLS), electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), UV-vis, fluorescence, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations have been used to decipher the formation/break (kinetics), properties, and dynamics of the organic nanoaggregates of three BTD small organic molecules. An in-depth study of the excited-state also revealed the preferential relaxation emissive pathways for the BTD derivatives and the dynamics associated with it. The results described herein, for the first time, explain the formation of fluorescent BTD nanoaggregate derivatives and allow for the understanding of their dynamics in solution as well as the ruling forces of both aggregation and break processes along with the involved equilibrium. One of the developed dyes could be used at a nanomolar concentration to selectively stain lipid droplets emitting an intense and bright fluorescence at the red channel. The other two BTDs could also stain lipid droplets at very low concentrations and were visualized preferentially at the blue channel.

Multistimuli-Responsive Fluorescent Organogelator Based on Triphenylamine-Substituted Acylhydrazone Derivative

A new triphenylamine-based acylhydrazone derivative (TPAH-B8) was synthesized. TPAH-B8 could form organogels in cyclohexane through ultrasonic treatment. A typical gelation-induced fluorescence enhancement property was observed, which was attributed to the formation of J-aggregate in the gel state. More interestingly, TPAH-B8 exhibited multistimuli responsive behaviors. First, TPAH-B8 showed a solvatochromic effect, with the emission color changing from blue to cyan with the change in solvent from nonpolar cyclohexane to polar dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). Second, TPAH-B8 showed a reversible mechanofluorochromism. The xerogel of TPAH-B8 emitted a blue fluorescence, while the fluorescence color changed to cyan after grinding. The cyan and blue colors could be repeated with the treatment of grinding and annealing, which was explored and ascribed to the transformation between crystalline and amorphous states. Third, TPAH-B8 revealed acidochromic property. The fluorescence color of TPAH-B8 in organogel and solid states could be switched by trifluoroacetic acid (TFA)/triethylamine (TEA). This work not only demonstrated the multistimuli-responsive fluorescent properties of TPAH-B8 but also offered an easy way to develop new kinds of multistimuli-responsive fluorescent materials.

Synthesis of π-conjugated network polymers based on triphenylamine (TPA) and tetraphenylethylene (TPE) as building blocks via direct Pd-catalyzed reactions and their application in CO2 capture and explosive detection

In this study, we report the synthesis of π-conjugated network polymers via palladium-catalyzed direct arylation polycondensation of triphenylamine (TPA) and tetraphenylethylene (TPE) with different active substrates. Moreover, six conjugated porous polymers were obtained (named as TPA-TPA-MA, TPA-PB-MA, TPA-TFB-MA, TPA-TPE-MA, TPE-PB-MA, and TPE-TFB-MA). Then, the fluorescence properties in the solid and dispersed states, the corresponding microporous structures, and the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface areas of all polymers were well studied. Among the obtained materials, TPA-PB-MA possessed not only largest BET surface area (686 m² g⁻¹) and largest pore volume (0.716 cm³ g⁻¹), but also the smallest pore size of 0.823 nm. These properties are very beneficial for the application of TPA-PB-MA in CO₂ storage and PA sensing. At 1 bar, TPA-PB-MA demonstrated the significant CO₂ uptake of 2.70 and 1.35 mmol g⁻¹ at 273 and 298 K, respectively. Furthermore, TPA-PB-MA was most sensitive and selective towards PA recognition. The K_SV constant was measured as 4.0 × 10⁴ M⁻¹.

In this study, we report the synthesis of π-conjugated network polymers via palladium-catalyzed direct arylation polycondensation of triphenylamine (TPA) and tetraphenylethylene (TPE) with different active substrates.