Functional Polymer Systems with Aggregation-Induced Emission and Stimuli Responses

Abstract

Functional polymer systems with stimuli responses have attracted great attention over the years due to their diverse range of applications. Such polymers are capable of altering their chemical and/or physical properties, such as chemical structures, chain conformation, solubility, shape, morphologies, and optical properties, in response to single or multiple stimuli. Among various stimuli-responsive polymers, those with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) properties possess the advantages of high sensitivity, fast response, large contrast, excellent photostability, and low background noise. The changes in fluorescence signal can be conveniently detected and monitored using portable instruments. The integration of AIE and stimuli responses into one polymer system provides a feasible and effective strategy for the development of smart polymers with high sensitivity to environmental variations. Here, we review the recent advances in the design, preparation, performance, and applications of functional synthetic polymer systems with AIE and stimuli responses. Various AIE-based polymer systems with responsiveness toward single physical or chemical stimuli as well as multiple stimuli are summarized with specific examples. The current challenges and perspectives on the future development of this research area will also be discussed at the end of this review.

Diversity-Oriented Synthesis of Functional Polymers with Multisubstituted Small Heterocycles by Facile Stereoselective Multicomponent Polymerizations

“…52 The detection of divalent palladium and hexavalent chromium are therefore of vital importance. As P1a/2a/3a is an AIE macromolecule with merits of high reliability, sensitivity, and selectivity, 53 we investigated its potential application in ion detection. To our surprise, it exhibits good response as a bifunctional probe towards the detection of these two ions.…”

In Situ Generation of Heterocyclic Polymers by Triple‐Bond Based Polymerizations

“…In addition to pH, heterocyclic polymers are reported to exhibit good response to photo stimuli. [66,67] For example, the prementioned four-membered ring heterocyclic polymers P13(1a-c/2a-c/3a-b) shown in Scheme 4A were utilized to fabricate two-dimensional fluorescent photopatterns. [4] The AIE-active P13(1a-c/2a-c/3a-b) were made into thin films and irradiated by 330-380nm UV illumination through a copper mask.…”

“…[10] Lastly, polymers constructed by triple-bond polymerizations have the potential for post-modification since their backbones often contain unsaturated bonds or heteroatoms such as nitrogen (N), sulfur (S), bromine (Br), iodine (I), etc. [10][11][12][13][14] Multifunctionalized or complex heterocyclic units that are hard to be obtained by other methods can be easily formed through the polymerizations of readily available non-cyclic monomers. [15] In past decades, great progress has been made in this field.…”

Synthesis of thermoresponsive nonconjugated fluorescent branched poly(ether amide)s via oxa-Michael addition polymerization

“…Other types of fluorescent polymers that have gained much attention in recent years are stimuli-responsive polymers, whose wavelength and strength of emission are affected by stimuli responses such as temperature, pH, and light. [33][34][35][36] In particular, thermoresponsive fluorescent polymers have been widely studied because temperature can be readily applied and adjusted externally. [37][38][39][40] Furthermore, thermoresponsive fluorescent polymers with lower critical solution temperature (LCST), especially LCST around body temperature, have attractive applications in fluorescent sensors, bioprobes and drug delivery.…”