Coordination-Induced Emission from Tetraphenylethylene Units and Their Applications

Thanks to the potential of aggregation-induced emission (AIE) phenomena, improved stabilities, and the good selectivity and sensitivity of the chemical responses exhibited by the products, coordination-driven self-assembly with tetraphenylethylene (TPE) units has recently received much attention and has been widely investigated for application in chemical sensors, cell imaging agents, light-harvesting systems, and others. Several reviews have emerged on the topics of AIE chemistry and aggregation-induced emission luminogen (AIEgen)-based supramolecular assembles, however, there is still a distinct lack of full overviews of emission enhancement from the viewpoint of metal-coordination effects. Thus, this minireview offers recent advances that have been made in the design and application of TPE-based metallacycles, metallacages, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and coordination polymers (CPs).     

Aggregation‐Induced Emission Characteristics of o‐Carborane‐Functionalized Tetraphenylethylene Luminogens: The Influence of Carborane Cages on Photoluminescence

Tetraphenylethylene (TPE)–carborane hybrids are constructed, and the impact of carborane substituents on the aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) characteristics of TPE‐cores has been investigated. When altering the 2‐R‐group on the carborane unit with ‐H, ‐CH₃ or phenyl group, the luminescent quantum yield of the corresponding TPE derivatives can be manipulated from 0.18 to 0.63 in the solid state. The emission color exhibits an obvious 100 nm shift (from blue to yellow).     

When Aggregation-Induced Emission Meets Perovskites: Efficient Defect-Passivation and Charge-Transfer for Ambient Fabrication of Perovskite Solar Cells

The intrinsic defects in perovskite film can serve as non-radiative recombination center to limit the performance and stability of metal halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs). The additive engineering in perovskite film is always applied to produce high-efficiency PSCs in recent years. Here, a typical donor-acceptor (D−A) structured aggregation-induced emission (AIE) molecule tetraphenylethene-2-dicyano-methylene-3-cyano-4,5,5-trimethyl-2,5-dihydrofuran (TPE-TCF) was introduced into perovskite film. The D−A structure of TPE-TCF molecule provided additional charge transfer channels, contributing to transporting electron of TPE-TCF-based device. The cyano (C≡N) of TPE-TCF can interact with the uncoordinated Pb to from a relatively stable intermediate, PbI₂⋅TPE-TCF, resulting in the slower crystal growth, reduced the defects at the grain boundaries and suppressed carrier recombination. As a consequence, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of TPE-TCF-modified PSCs achieved a remarkably enhanced from 15.63 to 19.66 % with negligible hysteresis, which was prominent in methylammonium lead iodide-based devices fabricated under ambient condition. Furthermore, the PSCs modified by AIE molecule possessed an outstanding stability and maintain about 86 % of the initial PCE after 300 h storage in air at 25–35 °C with a high relative humidity (RH) of ≈85 %. This work suggests that incorporating AIE molecule into perovskite is a promising strategy for facilitating high-performance PSCs commercialization in ambient environment without glovebox.     

Triphenylamine,Carbazole or Tetraphenylethylene-Functionalized Benzothiadiazole Derivatives: Aggregation-Induced Emission (AIE), Solvatochromic and Different Mechanoresponsive Fluorescence Characteristics

The development of mechanochromic fluorophors with high-brightness, solid-state fluorescence is very significant and challenging. Herein, highly solid-state emissive triphenylamine, carbazole and tetraphenylethylene-functionalized benzothiadiazole derivatives were developed. These compounds showed remarkable aggregation-induced emission and solvatochromic fluorescence characteristics. Furthermore, these fluorogenic compounds also displayed different mechanically triggering fluorescence responses.     

Water‐soluble AIE‐Active Fluorescent Organic Nanoparticles: Design,Preparation and Application for Specific Detection of Cysteine over Homocysteine and Glutathione in Living Cells

Water‐soluble ratiometric AIE‐active fluorescent organic nanoparticles 2OA‐FON for the specific sensing of cysteine over other biothiols are reported. The obtained amphiphilic probe included olefin aldehyde as recognizing unit, tetraphenylethylene as fluorescence reporter and lactose moiety as a hydrophilic group. This work provides a general design strategy based on the introduction of a sugar moiety into a hydrophobic AIEgen to develop ratiometric water‐soluble fluorescent organic nanoparticles.     

In Situ Monitoring of RAFT Polymerization by Tetraphenylethylene‐Containing Agents with Aggregation‐Induced Emission Characteristics

A facile and efficient approach is demonstrated to visualize the polymerization in situ. A group of tetraphenylethylene (TPE)‐containing dithiocarbamates were synthesized and screened as agents for reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerizations. The spatial‐temporal control characteristics of photochemistry enabled the RAFT polymerizations to be ON and OFF on demand under alternating visible light irradiation. The emission of TPE is sensitive to the local viscosity change owing to its aggregation‐induced emission characteristic. Quantitative information could be easily acquired by the naked eye without destroying the reaction system. Furthermore, the versatility of such a technique was well demonstrated by 12 different polymerization systems. The present approach thus demonstrated a powerful platform for understanding the controlled living radical polymerization process.     

Metal–Organic Gels from Silver Nanoclusters with Aggregation‐Induced Emission and Fluorescence‐to‐Phosphorescence Switching

Luminescent metal nanoclusters (NCs) are emerging as a new class of functional materials that have rich physicochemical properties and wide potential applications. In recent years, it has been found that some metal NCs undergo aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) and an interesting fluorescence‐to‐phosphorescence (F‐P) switching in solutions. However, insights of both the AIE and the F‐P switching remain largely unknown. Now, gelation of water soluble, atomically precise Ag₉ NCs is achieved by the addition of antisolvent. Self‐assembly of Ag₉ NCs into entangled fibers was confirmed, during which AIE was observed together with an F‐P switching occurring within a narrow time scale. Structural evaluation indicates the fibers are highly ordered. The self‐assembly of Ag₉ NCs and their photoluminescent property are thermally reversible, making the metal–organic gels good candidates for luminescent ratiometric thermometers.     

蓝光钙钛矿发光二极管:机遇与挑战

金属卤化钙钛矿由于具有优异的光电性能(如:高电子/空穴迁移率,高荧光量子产率,高色纯度,以及光色可调性等),成为应用于发光二极管(LED)的理想材料。近年来,钙钛矿LED的发展十分迅速,红光和绿光钙钛矿LED的外量子效率(EQE)均已超过20%。然而,蓝光(尤其是深蓝光)钙钛矿LED的EQE以及稳定性依然相对落后,这严重制约了钙钛矿LED在高性能、广色域显示领域和高显色指数白光照明领域的应用。因此,总结现阶段蓝光钙钛矿LED的发展,并剖析其机遇与挑战,对未来蓝光甚至整个钙钛矿LED领域的发展至关重要。本文将蓝光钙钛矿LED根据光色细分为天蓝光、纯蓝光、深蓝光三大部分进行总结,回顾了三种LED器件的发展历程,并详细阐述了现阶段实现他们的主要手段以及相关的基础原理,最后分析了它们各自的问题并提出了相应的解决思路。     

Water‐soluble Glucosamine‐coated AIE‐Active Fluorescent Organic Nanoparticles: Design,Synthesis and Assembly for Specific Detection of Heparin Based on Carbohydrate–Carbohydrate Interactions

Two water‐soluble carbohydrate‐coated AIE‐activate fluorescent organic nanoparticles TPE3G and TPE4G were designed and synthesized for the detection of heparin. Different from the reported strategy, we not only utilized the general detection mechanism of electrostatic interactions, but also introduced the concept of carbohydrate‐carbohydrate interactions (CCIs) to enrich the detection mechanism of heparin. TPE3G can serve as an efficient “turn‐on” probe with higher selectivity towards heparin than TPE4G . TEM studies revealed that the micro‐aggregated TPE3G was encapsulated with the heparin chain to form a complex self‐assemblied composite and emits strong fluorescence. It is believed that the results illustrated in this study provide a novel strategy based on CCls to design water‐soluble and more efficient bio‐probes for various biological and clinical applications.     

4,4'-[(2,2-二苯乙烯)-1,1-双(4,1-亚苯基)]二吡啶的合成、表征及其聚集诱导发光性能研究

以提升学生的实验操作及创新能力为目的的综合化学实验，采用简单的2步法（缩合和Suzuki反应）合成了一种具有聚集诱导发光性能的化合物4，4'-[（2，2-二苯乙烯）-1，1-双（4，1-亚苯基）]二吡啶（简称2Py-TPE）。利用过滤、洗涤、萃取、干燥和柱层析等常用的有机分离操作手段对该化合物进行纯化；使用核磁共振仪、高分辨质谱仪、红外光谱仪及稳态瞬态荧光光谱仪对其进行结构表征和聚集诱导发光性能研究。该实验不仅可以促使学生了解以四苯乙烯衍生物为代表的聚集诱导发光材料的研究现状，而且能够培养学生的综合实验能力和科学探究能力。     

Color-tunable and Highly Emissive Solid Materials Constructed from Tetraphenylethylene-o-carborane-based Building Blocks: Synthesis,Aggregation-induced emission,and Photophysics

A novel kind of expanded tetraphenylethylene (TPE)-carborane-TPE pentad has been synthesized by using two adjacent carborane moieties as central bridges and three TPE units in lateral positions. Its solid-state fluorescence quantum yield was substantially increased to 68.2% by expanding the number of bridges between carborane and TPE. Subsequently, the emission color shifted from blue to orange-yellow (126 nm). Mechanical insights into the electronic structure of the extended TPE-carborane-TPE pentads were obtained from density functional theory (DFT) calculations.     

Photophysical Switching between Aggregation-Induced Phosphorescence and Dual-State Emission by Isomeric Substitution

It is attractive but highly challenging to achieve controllable regulation of photophysical properties of pure organic luminogens, due to distinct work mechanisms and molecular structures. Here, a strategy to regulate in a controllable way the emission behavior of luminogens is reported, according to which long-lived aggregation-induced emission (AIE) can be switched to short-lived dual-state emission (DSE) by an isomer-based substitution reaction. Three luminogens with sharply different photophysical behaviors, including aggregation-induced phosphorescence and dual-state fluorescence emission, were obtained through a substitution reaction with three isomers. Freely rotating structures are attributed to aggregation-induced phosphorescence behavior, whereas twisted rigidification of the molecule greatly contributes to its dual-state emission phenomenon. This work contributes to the controlled regulation of photophysical behaviors through simple reactions and provides a solid evidence to support the key role of the prohibition of intramolecular rotation in aggregation-induced emission process and molecular design of dual-state emitters.     

Temperature-Responsive Photoluminescence and Elastic Properties of 1D Lead Halide Perovskites R- and S-(Methylbenzylamine)PbBr3

Low-dimensional metal halide perovskites (MHPs) have received much attention due to their striking semiconducting properties tunable at a molecular level, which hold great potential in the development of next-generation optoelectronic devices. However, the insufficient understanding of their stimulus-responsiveness and elastic properties hinders future practical applications. Here, the thermally responsive emissions and elastic properties of one-dimensional lead halide perovskites R- and S-MBAPbBr₃ (MBA⁺ = methylbenzylamine) were systematically investigated via temperature-dependent photoluminescence (PL) experiments and first-principles calculations. The PL peak positions of both perovskites were redshifted by about 20 nm, and the corresponding full width at half maximum was reduced by about 40 nm, from ambient temperature to about 150 K. This kind of temperature-responsive self-trapped exciton emission could be attributed to the synergistic effect of electron–phonon coupling and thermal expansion due to the alteration of hydrogen bonding. Moreover, the elastic properties of S-MBAPbBr₃ were calculated using density functional theory, revealing that its Young’s and shear moduli are in the range of 6.5–33.2 and 2.8–19.5 GPa, respectively, even smaller than those of two-dimensional MHPs. Our work demonstrates that the temperature-responsive emissions and low elastic moduli of these 1D MHPs could find use in flexible devices.     

利用激基复合物发光的有机白光器件制备

以1,4-二(2-氰基-2-苯乙烯基)-2,5-二苯基苯(CNDPDSB)为发光层, N,N'-[3-萘基]-N,N'-二苯基[1,1'-二苯基]-4,4'-二胺(NPB)为空穴传输层, 8-羟基喹啉铝(Alq)为电子传输层, 制备了一种色度稳定的有机电致白光器件. 该器件的白光发射是由CNDPDSB与NPB界面形成的激基复合物发出的红光以及NPB与CNDPDSB发射的蓝光混合而成. 该白光器件的光谱稳定, 在工作电压(6~13 V)内, 色坐标由(0.33, 0.34)变化到(0.31, 0.37). 器件在6 V电压下开启, 10 V电压下的亮度和效率分别为1200 cd/m2和0.2 cd/A.     

Measurement of Solubilization Location in Micelles Using Anchored Aggregation-Induced Emission Donors

Solubilization locations play a critical role in developing advanced surfactants and improving solubilization power in micelle-based applications. However, the current polarity-based techniques for measuring solubilization locations could come to conflicting conclusions. The key challenge is the unpredictable polarities in the micellar microenvironment. Now, an approach that is independent of micellar polarities is used to measure solubilization locations by covalently linking tetraphenylethylene (TPE) to the alkyl chain end of cationic surfactants. The solubilization locations of solubilized acceptors in the TPE-cored spherical micelles were accurately measured by calculating the Förster resonance energy transfer distance between anchored TPE donors and solubilized acceptors. Solubilization locations of solubilized substances in the micellar interior and at the micellar surface depend on their size and hydrophobicity, respectively.     

Three-Dimensional Cuprous Lead Bromide Framework with Highly Efficient and Stable Blue Photoluminescence Emission

Considering the instability and low photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of blue-emitting perovskites, it is still challenging and attractive to construct single crystalline hybrid lead halides with highly stable and efficient blue light emission. Herein, by rationally introducing d¹⁰ transition metal into single lead halide as new structural building unit and optical emitting center, we prepared a bimetallic halide of [(NH₄)₂]CuPbBr₅ with new type of three-dimensional (3D) anionic framework. [(NH₄)₂]CuPbBr₅ exhibits strong band-edge blue emission (441 nm) with a high PLQY of 32 % upon excitation with UV light. Detailed photophysical studies indicate [(NH₄)₂]CuPbBr₅ also displays broadband red light emissions derived from self-trapped states. Furthermore, the 3D framework features high structural and optical stabilities at extreme environments during at least three years. To our best knowledge, this work represents the first 3D non-perovskite bimetallic halide with highly efficient and stable blue light emission.     

Aggregation-induced multicolor luminescent nanoparticles with adaptive and fixed cores derived from brominated tetraphenylethene-containing block copolymer

Aggregation-induced emission (AIE)-active nanoparticles (NPs) exhibiting multicolor fluorescence and high-quantum yields independent of the environment are important for the further development of next-generation smart fluorescent materials. In this work, AIE-active amphiphilic block copolymers were designed and synthesized by RAFT polymerization of a brominated tetraphenylethene (TPE)-containing acrylate (A-TPE-Br). The block copolymer exhibited typical AIE effects in selective solvents, which can be explained by hydrophobic TPE aggregated in the core during micelle formation. Luminescent core–shell NPs with a crosslinked AIE core (fixed structure) were synthesized by the Suzuki coupling reaction of the bromine groups of the assembled block copolymer and boronic acid compounds. The NPs composed of TPE/thiophene crosslinked core showed green emission in both diluted state and solid state, implying the ability to fluoresce regardless of environmental changes and molecular dispersion. Multicolor luminescent NPs capable of changing color from blue to red were synthesized by changing the coupling compounds, such as anthracene for electron-rich units and benzothiadiazole for electron-deficient units. The effects of the nature of the donor and acceptor, as well as their combination (TPE/donor/acceptor sequence), on the color and fluorescent intensity of the core crosslinked NPs in the nonpolar and polar solvents, and solid state, were investigated.     

Band‐Edge Luminescence from Oxide and Halide Perovskite Semiconductors

Because perovskite crystals exhibit unique magnetic, conductive, and optical properties, they have been the subject of many fundamental investigations in various research fields. However, investigations related to their use as optoelectronic device materials are still in their early days. Regarding oxide perovskites, which have been investigated for a long time, the efficiency of photoluminescence (PL) induced by band‐to‐band transitions is extremely low because of the localized nature of the carriers in these materials. On the other hand, halide perovskites exhibit a highly efficient band‐edge PL attributable to the recombination of delocalized photocarriers. Therefore, it is expected that this class of high‐quality materials will be advantageous for optoelectronic devices such as solar cells and light‐emitting diodes. In this Minireview, we discuss various aspects of the PL properties and carrier dynamics of SrTiO₃ and CH₃NH₃PbX₃ (X=I, Br), which are representative oxide and halide perovskites.     

白光有机电致发光器件进展

白光有机电致发光器件（WOLEDs）在显示和照明领域有着极大的应用前景,受到人们广泛的关注。本文从多个方面综述了WOLEDs近年来的研究进展,探讨了它的应用前景及需要解决的问题。     

Photoredox Organic Synthesis Employing Heterogeneous Photocatalysts with Emphasis on Halide Perovskite

Lately, heterogeneous semiconductor materials have been explored as an emerging type of efficient photocatalyst for photoredox organic synthesis. Among these semiconductors, lead halide perovskite materials demonstrate unique properties towards excellent charge separation and charge transfer, extremely long charge carrier migration, high efficiency in visible light absorption, and long excited states lifetimes, etc., as proved in ground-breaking solar cell applications, garnering necessary merits for an efficient catalytic system for photoredox organic reactions. Here, the latest progress in heterogeneous semiconductor materials towards this endeavor is examined, with particular emphasis on lead halide perovskite nanocrystals (NCs) in photocatalytic organic synthesis.