Architectures and Mechanisms of Perylene Diimide-Based Optical Chemosensors for pH Probing

The precise control and monitoring of pH values remain critical for many chemical, physiological and biological processes. Perylene diimide (PDI)-based molecules and materials exhibit excellent thermal, chemical and photochemical stability, unique UV-vis absorption and fluorescent emission properties, low cytotoxicity, as well as intrinsic electron-withdrawing (n-type semiconductor) nature and impressive molecular assembly capability. These features combined enable promising applications of PDIs in chemosensors via optical signal modulations (e.g., fluorescent or colorimetric). One of the typical applications lies in the probing of pH under various conditions, which in turn helps monitor the extracellular (environmental) and intracellular pH change and pH-relying molecular recognition of inorganic or organic ions, as well as biological species, and so on. In this review, we give a special overview of the recent progress in PDI-based optical chemosensors for pH probing in various aqueous and binary water-organic media. Specific emphasis will be given to the key design roles of sensing materials regarding the architectures and the corresponding sensing mechanisms for a sensitive and selective pH response. The molecular design of PDIs and structural optimization of their assemblies in order to be suitable for sensing various pH ranges as applied in diverse scenarios will be discussed in detail. Moreover, the future perspective will be discussed, focusing on the current key challenges of PDI-based chemosensors in pH monitoring and the potential approach of new research, which may help address the challenges.