Fluorescence property and multifaceted applications of an aggregation-induced emission organic small molecule multifunctional material

Compared with traditional fluorescent materials exhibiting aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ), small organic molecules with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics demonstrate significant advantages in biomedical detection due to their special structures and optical properties. However, the single functionality of fluorescent materials can no longer meet the demands of multiple applications. The development of multifunctional materials is expected to become a major research focus. In this paper, a D-pi-A organic small molecule (E)-9-Butyl-3-(2-(pyridin-4-yl)vinyl)-9H-carbazole (PC) was designed and synthesized through the Wittig reaction. In the molecule, modified carbazole group served as the electron donor (D) and pyridine as the electron acceptor (A). The results of X-ray single crystal diffraction, spectral measurements and theoretical calculations demonstrate that PC exhibits excellent aggregation-induced emission properties, attributed to its J-aggregation stacking model. Furthermore, PC was found to exhibit acid-stimulated fluorescence response properties, which expands its potential applications in encrypted information transmission, fluorescent ink, and cell imaging, thereby injecting new vitality into the field of multifunctional materials.