Issue 6, 2012

An AIE-active hemicyanine fluorogen with stimuli-responsive red/blue emission: extending the pH sensing range by “switch + knob” effect

Abstract

In this work, a red-emissive zwitterionic hemicyanine dye, named TPE–Cy, containing tetraphenylethene (TPE) and N-alkylated indolium is designed and synthesized. TPE–Cy inherits the aggregation-induced emission (AIE) feature of TPE and displays a large Stokes shift (>185 nm), overcoming the limitations of the concentration-quenching effect and small Stokes shift (from a few to 20 nm) encountered by conventional cyanine dyes. By taking advantage of the photophysical AIE property and chemical reactivity towards OH/H+, TPE–Cy is able to sense pH in a broad range (the broadest to date) by showing different emission colors and intensities: strong to moderate red emission at pH 5–7, weak to no emission at pH 7–10, and no emission to strong blue emission at pH 10–14. The acid/base-switched red/blue emission transition is reversible and can be repeated for many cycles. By means of NMR and HRMS analyses, we have drawn a mechanistic picture at molecular level to illustrate how this dye works as a pH-sensitive fluorescent probe.

Graphical abstract: An AIE-active hemicyanine fluorogen with stimuli-responsive red/blue emission: extending the pH sensing range by “switch + knob” effect

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
23 Dec 2011
Accepted
06 Mar 2012
First published
08 Mar 2012

Chem. Sci., 2012,3, 1804-1809

An AIE-active hemicyanine fluorogen with stimuli-responsive red/blue emission: extending the pH sensing range by “switch + knob” effect

S. Chen, J. Liu, Y. Liu, H. Su, Y. Hong, C. K. W. Jim, R. T. K. Kwok, N. Zhao, W. Qin, J. W. Y. Lam, K. S. Wong and B. Z. Tang, Chem. Sci., 2012, 3, 1804 DOI: 10.1039/C2SC01108E

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