Multifunctional Fluorescent Tetraphenylethene-Based Reversible Mechanochromism for Highly Selective Detection of MnO₄^– in Aqueous Media and Green Organic Light Emitting Diode Applications

Abstract

Ethyl 2-cyano-3-(4-(1,2,2-triphenylvinyl) phenyl) acrylate (TPE-SKJ), a newly synthesized luminogen based on tetraphenylethene, with single crystal analysis exhibits photophysical phenomena such as aggregation-induced emission (AIE); reversible mechanochromic, solvatochromic, organic light emitting diode; and chemical sensing in aqueous media with great selectivity and a low limit of detection. The synthesized material demonstrates high selectivity and sensitivity capacity for sensing MnO 4 – in mixed aqueous media (water/acetonitrile, v/v, 9/1). The detection limit for MnO 4 – was found to be 0.086009 μg mL –1 with a quantum yield (Φ) of 11%. Moreover, we employed TPE-SKJ material in an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) as an emissive layer. The device shows a maximum of 1.62% external quantum efficiency, higher than nondoped emitting layer-based green OLEDs. The present results will encourage ongoing research into the design of novel stimuli-responsive organic materials with switchable properties based on their supramolecular interactions for numerous applications.