Understanding the AIE phenomenon of nonconjugated rhodamine derivatives via aggregation-induced molecular conformation change

Lin-Lin Yang; Haoran Wang; Jianyu Zhang; Bo Wu; Qiyao Li; Jie-Ying Chen; A-Ling Tang; Jacky W Y Lam; Zheng Zhao; Song Yang; Ben Zhong Tang

doi:10.1038/s41467-024-45271-6

Understanding the AIE phenomenon of nonconjugated rhodamine derivatives via aggregation-induced molecular conformation change

Nat Commun. 2024 Feb 2;15(1):999. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-45271-6.

Authors

Lin-Lin Yang^#^{1

2}, Haoran Wang^#^{2

3

4}, Jianyu Zhang³, Bo Wu², Qiyao Li², Jie-Ying Chen¹, A-Ling Tang¹, Jacky W Y Lam³, Zheng Zhao^{5

6}, Song Yang⁷, Ben Zhong Tang^{8

9

10}

Affiliations

¹ National Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide, Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide and Agricultural Bioengineering, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Huaxi District, Guiyang, 550025, China.
² Clinical Translational Research Center of Aggregation-Induced Emission, The Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Institute of Aggregate Science and Technology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen (CUHK-Shenzhen), Guangdong, 518172, P.R. China.
³ Hong Kong Branch of Chinese National Engineering Research Center for Tissue Restoration and Reconstruction, Department of Chemistry, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, 999077, China.
⁴ HKUST Shenzhen Research Institute, No. 9 Yuexing 1st RD, South Area Hi-tech Park, Nanshan, Shenzhen, 518057, China.
⁵ Clinical Translational Research Center of Aggregation-Induced Emission, The Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Institute of Aggregate Science and Technology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen (CUHK-Shenzhen), Guangdong, 518172, P.R. China. zhaozheng@cuhk.edu.cn.
⁶ HKUST Shenzhen Research Institute, No. 9 Yuexing 1st RD, South Area Hi-tech Park, Nanshan, Shenzhen, 518057, China. zhaozheng@cuhk.edu.cn.
⁷ National Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide, Key Laboratory of Green Pesticide and Agricultural Bioengineering, Ministry of Education, Guizhou University, Huaxi District, Guiyang, 550025, China. jhzx.msm@gmail.com.
⁸ Clinical Translational Research Center of Aggregation-Induced Emission, The Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Institute of Aggregate Science and Technology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen (CUHK-Shenzhen), Guangdong, 518172, P.R. China. tangbenz@cuhk.edu.cn.
⁹ Hong Kong Branch of Chinese National Engineering Research Center for Tissue Restoration and Reconstruction, Department of Chemistry, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, 999077, China. tangbenz@cuhk.edu.cn.
¹⁰ HKUST Shenzhen Research Institute, No. 9 Yuexing 1st RD, South Area Hi-tech Park, Nanshan, Shenzhen, 518057, China. tangbenz@cuhk.edu.cn.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

The bottom-up molecular science research paradigm has greatly propelled the advancement of materials science. However, some organic molecules can exhibit markedly different properties upon aggregation. Understanding the emergence of these properties and structure-property relationship has become a new research hotspot. In this work, by taking the unique closed-form rhodamines-based aggregation-induced emission (AIE) system as model compounds, we investigated their luminescent properties and the underlying mechanism deeply from a top-down viewpoint. Interestingly, the closed-form rhodamine-based AIE system did not display the expected emission behavior under high-viscosity or low-temperature conditions. Alternatively, we finally found that the molecular conformation change upon aggregation induced intramolecular charge transfer emission and played a significant role for the AIE phenomenon of these closed-form rhodamine derivatives. The application of these closed-form rhodamine-based AIE probe in food spoilage detection was also explored.