Journal
JOURNAL OF INORGANIC AND ORGANOMETALLIC POLYMERS AND MATERIALS
Volume 19, Issue 3, Pages 249-285Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s10904-009-9282-8
Keywords
Silole; Aggregation-induced emission; Restricted intramolecular rotation; Sensor; Light-emitting diode; Magnetic fluorescent nanoparticles
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Funding
- Research Grants Council of Hong Kong [603008, 602707, 602706, 601608]
- National Basic Research Program of the Ministry of Science & Technology of China [2002CB613401]
- National Science Foundation of China [20634020]
- Cao Guangbiao Foundation of Zhejiang University
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Aggregation generally quenches the light emissions of chromophoric molecules. In this review, we demonstrate that 1,1-disubstituted 2,3,4,5-tetraphenyl siloles and 2,5-difunctionalized siloles as well as their polymers exhibit the opposite behaviors. Instead of quenching, aggregation has greatly boosted their photoluminescence quantum yields by up to two orders of magnitude, turning them from faint fluorophores into strong emitters. Such abnormal phenomenon of aggregation-induced emission (AIE) is attributed to restricted intramolecular rotations of the peripheral phenyl rings against the central silole core, which block the nonradiative channel via the rotational energy relaxation processes and effectively populate the radiative decay of the excitons. Utilizing such a novel effect, siloles and their polymers find an array of applications as: sensors for chemicals, explosives, pH, and biomacromolecules (proteins, DNAs and RNAs), indicators for determining CMC and monitoring layer-by-layer self-assembling, biocompatible fluorogens for cell imaging, visualizing agent for DNA gel electrophoresis, biolabels for immunoassay, stimuli-responsive organic nanomaterials, magnetic fluorescent nanoparticles for potential bio-imaging and -separation, and outstanding materials for efficient OLEDs and PV cells.
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