The discovery of aggregation-induced emission (AIE) phenomenon in 2001 has had a significant impact on materials development across different research disciplines. AIE-active materials have been widely exploited for various applications in optoelectronics, sensing, biomedical, and stimuli-responsive systems, etc. This is made possible by integrating AIE features with other fields of science and engineering, such as nanoscience and nanotechnology. AIE has been extensively employed, particularly for biomedical applications, such as biosensing, bioimaging, and theranostics. However, development of AIE-based nanotechnology for other applications is comparatively less, although there have been increasing research activities in recent years. Given the significance and potential of the marriage between AIE hallmark and nanotechnology in AIE-active materials development, this review article summarizes and showcases the latest research efforts in AIE-based nanomaterials, including nanomaterials synthesis and their nonbiomedical applications, such as sensing, optoelectronics, functional coatings, and stimuli-responsive systems. A perspective on the outlook of AIE-based nanostructured materials and relevant nanotechnology for nonbiomedical applications will be provided, giving an insight into how to design AIE-active nanostructures as well as their applications beyond the biomedical domain.

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Two aggregation induced emission (AIE)-active poly(acrylates) bearing triphenylvinyl-functionalized phenylcarbazole and triphenylamine pendants, respectively, were synthesized. Their fluorescence response to nitroaromatics and electrofluorochromic (EFC) properties were studied, whereby both the presence of nitroaromatics and applied voltages led to fluorescence quenching. In a very first attempt to perform EFC detection of nitroaromatics, it was surprisingly found that after initial fluorescence quenching, the presence of nitroaromatics unexpectedly turned on fluorescence at high applied voltages (> + 1.0 V), demonstrating a promising approach for the EFC detection of nitroaromatic explosives.