Constructing Functional Polymers from AIEgens

Polymers with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics are a class of materials that show weak light emission in dilute solutions but become intensively emissive in the aggregated state. They have attracted tremendous attention in the past decades due to their excellent processability, efficient solid-state emission, high sensitivity in fluorescence sensing, unique mechanical properties, diverse topological and morphological structures, etc. In this talk, the recent research progress on the synthesis, structures, and functionalities of AIE-active polymers will be introduced. Moreover, new AIE-active systems (clusteroluminescent polymers) without conventional chromophores will also be discussed. A general method for synthesizing AIE-active polymers is to incorporate AIE-active luminogens (AIEgens) into the side chain, main chain, or center/terminal of a polymer structure. By using different polymerization or post-modification strategies, a large variety of AIE-active polymers with linear, star-shaped, dendritic, hyperbranched, cross-linked, or three-dimensionally ordered structures have been constructed. The combination of AIE effect and the polymer characteristics enable AIE-active polymers to find a wide range of practical applications, including fluorescence chemosensing, bioprobing, bioimaging, as well as light emitting device fabrication. We hope this talk could provide some insight into the design strategy and the structure-property relationship of functional polymers from AIEgens to benefit the further advancement of this area and to show a picture of the bright future of AIE-active polymers.

References

J. Mei, N.L.C. Leung, R.T.K. Kwok, J.W.Y. Lam, B.Z. Tang. Chem. Rev. 2015, 115, 11718.
A.J. Qin, J.W.Y. Lam, B.Z. Tang. Prog. Polym. Sci. 2012, 37, 182.
Hu, R.; Qin, A.; Tang, B. Z. Prog. Polym. Sci. 2020, 100, 101176.
He, B.; Huang, J.; Liu, X.; Zhang, J.; J.W.Y. Lam, B.Z. Tang. Prog. Polym. Sci. 2022, 126, 101503.
Yan, H.; He, Y.; Wang, D.; Han, T.; B.Z. Tang. Aggregate 2023, e331.
Fu, X.; Qin, A.; B.Z. Tang. Aggregate 2023, e350.

Speakers

Ben Zhong Tang

KAUST

KAUST Research Centers

KCC Research Groups