As Fiber Meets with AIE: Opening a Wonderland for Smart Flexible Materials

Abstract

Aggregation‐induced emission luminogens (AIEgens) have recently been developed at a tremendous pace in the area of organic luminescent materials by virtue of their superior properties. However, the practical applications of AIEgens still face the challenge of transforming AIEgens from molecules into materials. Till now, many AIEgens have been integrated into fiber, endowing the fiber with prominent fluorescence and/or photosensitizing capacities. AIEgens and fiber complement each other for making progress in flexible smart materials, in which the utilization of AIEgens creates new application possibilities for fiber, and the fiber provides an excellent carrier for AIEgens towards realizing the conversion from molecule to materials and an ideal platform to research the aggregate state of AIEgens in mesoscale and macroscale. This review begins with a brief summary of the recent advances related to some typical AIEgens with various functions and the technology for the fabrication of AIEgen‐functionalized fiber. The most representative applications are then highlighted by focusing on energy conversion, personal protective equipment, biomedical, sensor, and fluorescence‐related fields. Finally, the challenges, opportunities, and tendencies in future development are discussed in detail. This review hopes to inspire innovation in AIEgens and fiber from the view of mesoscale and macroscale.

Force-triggered hypso- and bathochromic bidirectional fluorescence switching beyond 120 nm and its anticounterfeiting applications

“…Besides, nanospheres formed by aggregation in 1,4-dioxane/water and THF/water mixtures were also verified by scanning electron microscopy. Collectively, the results suggest that SymADA is AIE-active, which has potential applications in materials science ( 38 – 40 ).…”

[12]aneN3-modified camptothecin and PEGylated AIEgens co-assembly into core–shell nanoparticles with ROS/NTR dual-response for enhanced cancer therapy

“…AIE with near-infrared emission is a powerful tool in gene and/or drug delivery for bioimaging and visualizing in internalization, accumulation, and release. 54 As shown in Fig. 5A, at 1 h, only a small amount of CNN2-DT /FAM-DNA NPs had translocated into the cell, as detected by increasing green and red fluorescence in the cells.…”

Improved Antibacterial Properties of Polylactic Acid-Based Nanofibers Loaded with ZnO–Ag Nanoparticles through Pore Engineering

“…Protective fiber materials have a wide range of applications in medical and health care, personal protection, industrial protection, and other fields. − Especially, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 has highlighted the importance of protective fiber materials. , Currently, protective fiber materials are usually made of nondegradable polymers, including polyethylene, polypropylene, polyester, and so on. , The protective products made from these polymers are difficult to degrade after being discarded, and even after degradation, they still generate a large amount of microplastics, which can cause serious harm to water, animals, and human beings. , Therefore, it is of great significance to use biodegradable polymers to replace these commonly used nondegradable polymers to develop protective fiber materials. Polylactic acid (PLA) is a biodegradable polymer with excellent performance, which has been widely used in biomedicine, packaging, textile, and other fields. − Developing protective fiber materials using PLA as raw material can effectively solve the pollution problem raised by protective materials and prepare for future outbreaks of epidemics.…”