A Binary Supramolecular Assembly with Intense Fluorescence Emission, High pH Stability, and Cation Selectivity: Supramolecular Assembly-Induced Emission Materials
Xu Wang,
Xin-Yue Lou,
Xiao-Yu Jin,
Feng Liang,
Ying-Wei Yang
Affiliations
Xu Wang
State Key Laboratory of Inorganic Synthesis and Preparative Chemistry, International Joint Research Laboratory of Nano-Micro Architecture Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, 2699 Qianjin Street, Changchun 130012, China
Xin-Yue Lou
State Key Laboratory of Inorganic Synthesis and Preparative Chemistry, International Joint Research Laboratory of Nano-Micro Architecture Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, 2699 Qianjin Street, Changchun 130012, China
Xiao-Yu Jin
State Key Laboratory of Inorganic Synthesis and Preparative Chemistry, International Joint Research Laboratory of Nano-Micro Architecture Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, 2699 Qianjin Street, Changchun 130012, China
Feng Liang
The State Key Laboratory of Refractories and Metallurgy, School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430081, China
Ying-Wei Yang
State Key Laboratory of Inorganic Synthesis and Preparative Chemistry, International Joint Research Laboratory of Nano-Micro Architecture Chemistry, College of Chemistry, Jilin University, 2699 Qianjin Street, Changchun 130012, China; The State Key Laboratory of Refractories and Metallurgy, School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430081, China
We construct a fluorescent supramolecular system (TPE-Q4⊂ DSP5) of excellent tolerance to a wide range of pH by the facile self-assembly of a new pillar[5]arene bearing disulfonated arms (DSP5) with an AIE-active tetraphenylethene-based tetratopic guest bearing four quaternary ammonium binding sites (TPE-Q4), which exhibits strong blue emission even in dilute aqueous solutions along with much higher quantum yield and longer fluorescence lifetime than TPE-Q4 itself. This appreciable property can be attributed to the supramolecular assembly-induced emission (SAIE) mechanism endowed by the host-guest inclusion complexation based on synthetic macrocycles. Remarkably, the enhanced fluorescence of the supramolecular assembly is quenched efficiently and exclusively by ferric ions in water with a high Stern–Volmer formula constant of 1.3 × 105 mol-1, demonstrating the excellent cation selectivity and visualized responsiveness in ion sensing and detection.
