Tetraphenylpyrazine (TPP) is a promising
heterocycle-based aggregation-induced
emission luminogen (AIEgen) which has sparked multiple applications
in organic light-emitting diodes, sensors, and biotherapy. However,
the utility of it in developing information storage materials is relatively
rare. Moreover, TPP is mostly employed as an electronic acceptor in
molecular design, while the consideration of it as an electronic donor
is attractive in studies which may provide a full understanding of
its property to tailor the materials. In this work, we synthesize
three TPP-based molecules by decorating it with acrylonitrile and
isomeric pyridine units, which show AIE behavior by property inheritance
from their parent unit. Interestingly, the effective intramolecular
charge transfer takes place from the TPP electronic donor to the acrylonitrile
and pyridine electronic acceptor, therefore inducing a remarkable
solvatochromic effect as the solvent polarity improves. Moreover,
it is revealed that the isomeric effect of the nitrogen atom in the
pyridines may pose an influence on the absorption, solvatochromism,
and AIE behavior. In addition, the acrylonitrile and pyridine groups
are reactive to light and acid–base stimuli with irreversible
and reversible responses, respectively. Combined with the high light-harvesting
ability of these AIEgens, they show great potential in the stimuli-responsive
materials for dual information storage.