Contradiction or Unity? Thermally Stable Fluorescent Probe for In Situ Fast Identification of Self-sort or Co-assembly of Multicomponent Gelators with Sensitive Properties

Abstract

Analyzing the assembly patterns of multicomponent gelators is important for understanding their assembly rules and precisely manipulating their molecular structure to form a tailored multifunctional supramolecular gel. But the fast in situ recognition technology to infer whether the assembly pattern is a self-sorting or co-assembled system is lacking. For developing a widely applicable stable and sensitive fluorescent probe to infer assembly patterns, we design and synthesize the multiple peripheral functional group tetraphenylethene (TPE) modified well-defined cubic core polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) three-dimensional (3D) dendrimer. POSS-TPE can form a thermally stable self-assembly structure after being incubated in a wide temperature range, and the resultant special thermally stable photoluminescence (PL) intensity provides a novel possibility of fluorescent probe. Then, POSS-TPE sensitively catches the mechanical stress changes of the confined space provided by the gel networks and infers the assembly patterns by comparing the mechanical stress change laws of a self-sorting or coassembled system. So, the application of fluorescent probe in assembly fields is enlarged in this research. In the future, this widely applicable fluorescent probe will be helpful to develop supramolecular assembly materials consisting of multicomponent gels.

Organosilicon Fluorescent Materials

“…Except for chemical analyst, the physical signals, such as force, temperature, and light, can also be effectively detected by organosilicon-based chemosenosrs [ 61 , 69 , 80 , 81 , 82 ]. Heras et al reported carbazole-containing polysiloxane elastomers (LSCEs) to detect mechanical events by recording fluorescent signals [ 83 ].…”

Synthesis, properties and applications of well‐designed hybrid polymers based on polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane

“…Wang Xu's group 80 recently developed an in situ recognition technology to distinguish the assembly mode of multicomponent gels and determine whether it is self‐sorting assembly or co‐assembly. They designed and synthesized multiple peripheral functional groups (TPE) to modify a well‐defined cubic core (POSS) three‐dimensional dendrimer.…”

N-Butyl-4-hydrazino-1,8-naphthalimide-Loaded Chitosan Self-Assembled Nanoparticles as Fluorescent Ratiometric Chemosensors for Detection of Formaldehyde

“…In recent years, supramolecular self-assembled materials have drawn immense attention in biological imaging, analyte detection, and sensing applications. − Common fluorescent supramolecular sensors include polymers, gels, films, self-assembled nanomaterials, and so on. Each sensor has its own strengths in some way.…”