Aryl rotor-modified anthracene for aggregation-induced emission and mechano-chromic luminescence

Fluorescent materials with stimuli-responsive and aggregation-induced emission are crucial for developing intelligent materials and have wide applications in sensors and information encryption. In this work, three simple anthracene tetrafluoroethylene derivatives, BT-D, BT-D-1 and BTD-D, were designed and synthesized. Crystal structure analysis confirms that the bulk of aromatic substitution can significantly alter the dihedral angle of the anthracene core and the angle between the aromatic ring and the vinyl group. Interestingly, BTD-D shows significant AIE and mechano-chromic luminescence properties. PXRD patterns reveal that the transition from the crystalline to the amorphous state following grinding is the direct cause of this phenomenon.