Yahui Zhang

A fluorescent probe with an aggregation-enhanced emission feature for real-time monitoring of low carbon dioxide levels

Novel fluorescent probes based on the 1,2,5-triphenylpyrrole core containing a different number of tertiary amine moieties, 2-(dimethylamino)ethyl 4-(2,5-diphenyl-1H-pyrrol-1-yl)benzoate (TPP-DMAE), bis(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl) 4,4′-(1-phenyl-1H-pyrrole-2,5-diyl)dibenzoate (TPP-BDMAE) and tris(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl) 4,4′,4′′-(1H-pyrrole-1,2,5-triyl)tribenzoate (TPP-TDMAE), with an aggregation-enhanced emission (AEE) feature, were prepared for the quantitative detection of low levels of carbon dioxide in the gas mixture with the fraction of carbon dioxide ranging from 0.4% to 5%. Compared with the other two compounds, TPP-TDMAE showed the most selective, fastest and most iterative response to carbon dioxide. A significant fluorescence decrease with a turn-off ratio over 20-fold was triggered by the disaggregation process through the reaction with carbon dioxide. Response time results indicated that the emission intensity of TPP-TDMAE can be quickly decreased to the minimum level in less than 12 s upon bubbling of carbon dioxide. It is desirable to develop a novel method for the selective, real-time and quantitative detection of CO2 for biological and medical applications.

Light/temperature-enhanced emission characteristics of malononitrile-containing hexaphenyl-1,3-butadiene derivatives: the hotter, the brighter

A Light/Temperature-Enhanced Emission (LTEE) based fluorescence turn-on probe was prepared via the photocyclization/crystallization of a malononitrile-containing hexaphenyl-1,3-butadiene derivative (HPB-CN) on filter paper. The HPB-CN-coated filter paper exhibited stronger PL intensity as the exposure time under UV light prolonged and the heating temperature increased, indicating the hotter, the brighter.

Turn-on fluorescent probe with aggregation-induced emission characteristics for polyazoles

Polyazoles are a class of explosives and the synthetic precursors of antibiotics. The detection of polyazole compounds is quite important but challenging. In this work, a novel fluorescent probe with AIE-activity was designed and synthesized. The probe displays dramatic turn-on behavior and visible distinguishability by the naked eye in the presence of 5-nitro-2,4-dihydro-3H-1,2,4-triazole-3-one (NTO) with a limit of detection (LOD) of 7 nM in a water/THF mixture. In addition, the probe shows a high sensitivity to most of the polyazoles, while other common explosives and imidazoles induced a fairly low interference effect, which makes the probe potentially applicable in monitoring water quality.

Aggregation-Induced Emission of Multiphenyl-Substituted 1,3-Butadiene Derivatives: Synthesis, Properties and Application

Organic functional materials, including conjugated molecules and fluorescent dyes, have been intensely developed in recent years because they can be applied in many fields, such as solar cells, biosensing and bioimaging, and medical adjuvant therapy. Organic functional materials with aggregation-induced emission or aggregation-enhanced emission (AIE/AEE) characteristics have increasingly attracted attention due to their high quantum efficiency in the aggregated or solid state. A large variety of AIE/AEE materials have been designed and applied during the exponential growth of research interest in the abovementioned fields. Multiphenyl-substituted 1,3-butadiene (MPB), as a core structure that includes tetraphenyl-1,3-butadiene, hexaphenyl-1,3-butadiene and their derivatives, show a typical AIE/AEE feature and can be potentially used in all the above-mentioned fields. This review summarizes the design principles, the corresponding syntheses, and the structure-property relationships of MPBs, as well as their excellent innovative functionalities and applications. This review will be useful for scientists conducting chemistry, materials, and biomedical research in AIE/AEE-related fields.