Issue 6, 2019

Drawing a clear mechanistic picture for the aggregation-induced emission process

Abstract

Fluorescence is a widely used method to monitor many biological and abiological processes as well as being famous for its use in display devices. Currently, its wavelength can be accurately tuned in organic fluorophores by regulating their conjugation length. However, emission efficiency is still an experiential parameter. In this work, we investigate the photophysical properties of two stilbene-based isomerides. The different positions of one methyl group make di-o-methyl substituted 2,4,6-TMe-DPE more twisted than mono-o-methyl substituted 2,4,5-TMe-DPE. Experimental results show that the twisted structure is nonluminescent in solution and exhibits a typical aggregation-induced emission effect. However, the other planar isomer shows strong emission both in solution and in aggregate states. Steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopy, and quantum mechanical calculation suggest that nonradiative decay is predominant in 2,4,6-TMe-DPE and that excited-state double-bond torsion contributes a lot to the nonradiative decay channel. This work draws a clear photophysical picture for the aggregation-induced emission process and enables the luminescent behavior to become predictable and controllable.

Graphical abstract: Drawing a clear mechanistic picture for the aggregation-induced emission process

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Research Article
Submitted
15 mar 2019
Accepted
16 apr 2019
First published
17 apr 2019

Mater. Chem. Front., 2019,3, 1143-1150

Drawing a clear mechanistic picture for the aggregation-induced emission process

H. Zhang, J. Liu, L. Du, C. Ma, N. L. C. Leung, Y. Niu, A. Qin, J. Sun, Q. Peng, H. H. Y. Sung, I. D. Williams, R. T. K. Kwok, J. W. Y. Lam, K. S. Wong, D. L. Phillips and B. Z. Tang, Mater. Chem. Front., 2019, 3, 1143 DOI: 10.1039/C9QM00156E

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements