Aggregation-induced emission enhancement (AIEE)-active tetraphenylethene (TPE)-based chemosensor for Hg²⁺ with solvatochromism and cell imaging characteristics

An aggregation-induced emission enhancement (AIEE)-active fluorescent sensor based on a tetraphenylethene (TPE) unit has been successfully designed and synthesized. Interestingly, the luminogen could detect Hg²⁺ with high selectivity in an acetonitrile solution without interference from other competitive metal ions, and the detection limit was 7.46 × 10⁻⁶ mol L⁻¹. Furthermore, the luminogen also showed interesting solvatochromic behavior and superior cell imaging performance.