posted on 2023-01-05, 15:18authored byQing Wan, Yuxuan Li, Keke Ding, Yili Xie, Jianzhong Fan, Jialin Tong, Zebing Zeng, Yin Li, Chunhui Zhao, Zhiming Wang, Ben Zhong Tang
The
concept of aggregate science was proposed to explain changes
in materials performance that accompany the generation of aggregates,
but aggregation-triggered multifunction improvements in a class of
materials have rarely been reported. Herein, we present the first
report of a new class of multifunctional aggregation-induced emission
(AIE) luminogens (AIEgens) based on 5,10-diarylphenazine (DPZ) derivates
with full-wavelength emission. Intriguingly, multiple properties,
such as fluorescence intensity and free radical and type I reactive
oxygen species (ROS) efficiencies, could be simultaneously activated
from the unimolecular level to the aggregate state. The mechanisms
of this multiple performance improvement are discussed in detail based
on sufficient performance characterization, and some of the newly
prepared AIEgens exhibited toxicity to cancer cells during photodynamic
therapy. This work systematically demonstrates the positive effect
of aggregation on improving multiple functions of materials, which
is expected to promote the development of aggregate science theory
for the design of multifunctional materials.