Unprecedented tunable hydrophobic effect and anion recognition triggered by AIE with Hofmeister series in water

An unprecedented tunable hydrophobic effect in self-assembly of a small cationic organic fluorophore (NI-TPy+)-based with aggregation-induced emission (ALE) property was realized in aqueous solution. The amplification of hydrophobicity was found to be significantly dependent upon the increasing aggregates of NI-TPy+, which enabled the study of the hydrophobic binding of chaotropic anions with the Hofmeister series. (C) 2021 Chinese Chemical Society and Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study demonstrates a novel tunable hydrophobic effect in self-assembly of a small cationic organic fluorophore (NI-TPy+) with aggregation-induced emission (ALE) property in aqueous solution. The amplification of hydrophobicity was found to be significantly dependent upon the increasing aggregates of NI-TPy+, enabling the study of hydrophobic binding with chaotropic anions in the Hofmeister series.