Unprecedented strong blue photoluminescence from hyperbranched polycarbonate: From its fluorescence mechanism to applications

Abstract

Fluorescent polymers without π‐aromatic structure have been a hot spot in recent years. Polycarbonate has been applied in industry for many years; however, the fluorescent behavior of the polycarbonate has not been reported yet. Therefore, a kind of hyperbranched polycarbonate (HBPC) has been synthesized under solvent and catalyst‐free condition. Unexpectedly, the novel HBPC containing no conventional chromophores exhibits unimagined bright blue fluorescence under the irradiation of 334 nm UV light. The intensity of the HBPC fluorescence is rising in step with its concentration going up, showing an aggregation‐induced enhanced emission (AIEE). It is more interestingly that the fluorescence of HBPC could be affected by pH and metal ions. Specifically, the fluorescence of HBPC is extraordinarily sensitive to the Fe3+. TEM micrographs show that the HBPC self‐assemble to clustering in water. Rudimentary investigation illustrates that the formation of cluster accounts for the unexpected fluorescence in the HBPC. This phenomenon is typical of Clustering‐Triggered emission (CTE). This study exhibits a novel route for the design of CTE fluorescent polymers. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017, 55, 3690–3696

Unprecedented Multicolor Photoluminescence from Hyperbranched Poly(amino ester)s

“…Compared with the conventional AIEgens, AIEgens carrying no phenyl rings have more advantages in the field of biological sensing and imaging due to their low toxicity and outstanding biocompatibility . Many non‐conjugated polymers with aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) characteristics have been reported, such as poly(amidoamine), poly(amino ester), poly(ethylenimine), polysiloxanes, polyurea, polycarbonate, and Polyacrylonitrile . These polymers generally emit blue fluorescence under particular excitation owing to the presence of non‐conventional chromophores such as aliphatic tertiary amine, carbonyl, ester and amide.…”

“…Meanwhile, the longer excitation wavelength has less harmful effects on cells and tissues in biological samples . However, non‐conventional AIEgens normally emit in the blue and green area . Even though they generally show excitation‐dependent photoluminescence (PL), efficient yellow and red emissions are scarcely found.…”

“…[20] However, non-conventional AIEgens normally emit in the blue and green area. [15,21,22] Even though they generally show excitationdependent photoluminescence (PL), efficient yellow and red emissions are scarcely found. The reason is that the fluorescence of AIEgens exhibits a deeper color accompanied by a decreased fluorescence intensity with the excitation wavelength increase.…”

Multiring-induced multicolour emission: hyperbranched polysiloxane with silicon bridge for data encryption

“…[13][14][15][16] Normally, the luminescence of nonconventional macromolecular luminogens is explained in terms of the clustering-triggered emission mechanism, 17 which suggests that the luminescence of nonconventional macromolecular luminogens with p and lone-paired (n) electrons can be attributed to the electron cloud overlap and simultaneous conformation rigidification in their aggregated state. Based on this theory, a series of new luminescent materials such as polycarbonate 18 or PAE 19 have been reported. However, the discussion on the luminescence mechanism of these polymers generally stays on the influence of aggregate morphology; in fact, the molecular structure also plays an important role in luminescence performance.…”

pH and thermo responsive aliphatic tertiary amine chromophore hyperbranched poly(amino ether ester)s from oxa‐Michael addition polymerization

“…[ 6,7 ] In comparison with conventional fluorescent polymers, the unconventional fluorescence polymers without traditional chromophores have attracted a great deal of interest because of their facile preparation, excellent water solubility and good biocompatibility. [ 8–22 ] Among of unconventional fluorescent compounds, tertiary amine chromophore polymers with intrinsic fluorescence and stimulus responsiveness, which have proved to be an effective biomedical application materials and been extensively studied. [ 23–28 ]…”