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.