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Precise pixel control of quantum dots (QDs) offers unparalleled opportunities for various display applications, such as the OLED and Micro-LED. However, precise selective patterning of QDs is still a challenge due to the lack of a design methodology. Therefore, the aim of this study was thus to develop a photoinitiator-grafted oligomer for "on demand" control of active free radicals to improve the line edge roughness in QD patterning. This photosensitive oligomer was constructed by grafting the photosensitive benzophenone structure onto a phenolic resin oligomer, thus resulting in the confinement of active free radicals and highly selective photolithography. As a proof of concept, we have demonstrated high-quality QD patterns with high resolution and low edge roughness by using direct in situ photolithography. This work opens an avenue for the precise design and synthesis of QD photoresists, improving the precision of QD patterning for display applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A hyperbranched conjugated polyelectrolyte (HCPE) with a core–shell structure is designed and synthesized via alkyne polycyclotrimerization and click chemistry. The HCPE has an emission maximum at 565 nm with a quantum yield of 12% and a large Stokes shift of 143 nm in water. By virtue of its poly(ethylene glycol) shell, this polymer naturally forms spherical nanoparticles that minimize nonspecific interaction with biomolecules in aqueous solution, consequently allowing for efficient bioconjugation with anti-HER2 affibody via carbodiimide-activated coupling reaction. The resulting affibody-attached HCPE can be utilized as a reliable fluorescent probe for targeted cellular imaging of HER2-overexpressed cancer cells such as SKBR-3. Considering its low cytotoxicity and good photostability, the HCPE nanoprobe holds great promise in practical imaging tasks. This study also provides a molecular engineering strategy to overcome the intrinsic limitations of traditional fluorescent polymers (e.g., chromophore-tethered polymers and linear conjugated polyelectrolytes) for bioconjugation and applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of poly(1,4-dihydropyridine)s (PDHPs) were successfully synthesized via one-pot metal-free multicomponent polymerization of diacetylenic esters, benzaldehyde, and aniline derivatives. These PDHPs without traditional luminescent units were endowed with tunable triplet energy levels by through-space conjugation from the formation of different cluster sizes. The large and compact clusters can effectively extend the phosphorescence wavelength. The triplet excitons can be stabilized by using benzophenone as a rigid matrix to achieve room-temperature phosphorescence. The nonconjugated polymeric clusters can show a phosphorescence emission up to 645 nm. A combination of static and dynamic laser light scattering was conducted for insight into the structural information on formed clusters in the host matrix melt. Moreover, both the fluorescence and phosphorescence emission can be easily tuned by the variation of the excitation wavelength, the concentration, and the molecular weight of the guest polymers. This work provides a unique insight for designing polymeric host-guest systems and a new strategy for the development of long wavelength phosphorescence materials.

A novel "turn-on" fluorescent bioprobe, 1,2,3,4,5-penta(4-carboxyphenyl)pyrrole sodium salt (PPPNa), with aggregation-enhanced emission characteristics was synthesized for the in situ quantitative detection of Al 3+ in serum. It exhibited a high selectivity to Al 3+ in both simulated serum and fetal calf serum with no interferences from other metal ions or serum components observed and no isolation required. A weak interaction between PPPNa and serum albumin was found, which caused no interference, but enhanced fluorescence response of PPPNa to Al 3+ and improved detection sensitivity. The limit of detection was determined to be 1.50 μmol/L Al 3+ in phosphate-buffered saline solution containing 33 μg/mL bovine serum albumin (BSA) and decreased to 0.98 μmol/L as BSA concentration increased to 100 μg/mL. The fluorescence "turn-on" mechanism of the PPPNa probe to detect Al 3+ was proposed. A bidentate complex is formed between the carboxy group of PPPNa and Al 3+ , causing the photoluminescence (PL) emission enhancement by aggregation. BSA chains further strengthen the stacking compactness of the aggregates of PPPNa and Al 3+ and consequently enhance the PL emission of PPPNa by further promoting the restriction of intramolecular rotation of the phenyl ring. Its application to the in situ Al 3+ was successfully demonstrated with HeLa cells and NIH 3T3 cells. The low cytotoxicity and highly selective response of PPPNa to Al 3+ endow its great potentials to in vivo detecting and imaging of Al 3+ as well as an absorbent of Al 3+ .

An aggregation-enhanced emission active luminogen named as sodium 4,4'4″-(3,4-diphenyl-1H-pyrrole-1,2,5-triyl)tribenzoate (DP-TPPNa) with propeller construction was synthesized and developed as a "turn on" fluorescent probe for in situ quantitation of albumin in blood serum. The DP-TPPNa fluorescence intensity was linearly correlated with the concentration of two serum albumins, bovine serum albumin (BSA) and human serum albumin (HSA), in pure PBS buffer in the ranges of 2.18-70 and 1.68-100 μg/mL, respectively. The detection limits were as low as 2.18 μg/mL for BSA and 1.68 μg/mL for HSA. The response time of fluorescence to serum albumin (SA) was very short (below 6 s), which achieved real-time detection. It also showed high selectivity to SA because other components in serum barely interfere with the detection of DP-TPPNa to SA, enabling in situ quantitative detection of SA without isolation from serum. DP-TPPNa was successfully applied for the quantitative detection of BSA in fetal bovine serum. The mechanism of fluorescent turn-on behavior was elucidated utilizing an unfolding process induced by guanidine hydrochloride, which revealed a capture process via selective hydrophobic interaction and hydrogen bonding between luminogen and SA.

Fully conjugated metallosupramolecular self-assembled multilayer films were controllably fabricated based on bibenzonitril-phthalocyaninato ruthenium(II) (BBPR) and 4,4'-bipyridine (BP) via axially coordination interaction between ruthenium ions and the pyridine groups on the modified substrates. The substrates were first functionalized by 4-(pyridine-4-ylethynyl)benzenic diazonium salt (PBD) through photodecomposition of diazonium group under UV irradiation. As a result, the pyridine-containing functional groups were vertically and covalently anchored onto the surface of substrate and got a stable monolayer. Soluble ruthenium phthalocyanine, axially coordinated by labile benzonitrile groups, was used to fabricate the layer-by-layer self-assembled films with BP through ligand-exchanging reaction between benzonitrile and pyridine in each self-assembled cycle. The UV-vis analysis results demonstrated the successful fabrication of bi(4,4'-bipyridine)phthalocyaninato ruthenium(II) (BPPR) metallosupramolecular ultrathin films with definite structures on PBD-modified substrate. Under illumination, the BPPR self-assembled multilayer films displayed a quick response to light. The maximum current density reached 120 nA/cm(2) at six bilayers. The Eg, HOMO, and LUMO of the six-bilayer were quantitatively measured to be 1.68, -5.29, and -3.61 eV, respectively. This strategy supplies a facile method to get full-conjugated metallosupramolecules and a platform for developing higher performance solar cell from the point of adjusting dye aggregate state structure.

The relationship between the structures and light emission properties of five aryl-substituted pyrrole derivatives was studied during aggregation in THF-water mixtures. Only pentaphenylpyrrole clearly shows, however, an aggregation-induced emission enhancement (AIEE) phenomenon. On comparison of the optical properties and single-crystal structures of these pyrrole derivatives, it is suggested that the more twisted configuration which prevented parallel orientation of conjugated chromophores combined with the restricted intramolecular rotation (RIR) effect was the main cause of the AIEE phenomenon.

4-(2-(4-pyridinyl)Ethynyl)benzenic diazonium salt (PBD) was used to modify multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) by the self-assembly technique. After the decomposition of the diazonium group in PBD under UV irradiation, the PBD monolayer film covalently anchored on multiwalled carbon nanotubes is very stable. The obtained pyridine-modified MWCNTs (Py(Ar)-MWCNTs) have good solubility in common organic solvents. Furthermore, the layer-by-layer (LBL) self-assembled fully conjugated films of Py(Ar)-MWCNTs and (phthalocyaninato)ruthenium(II) (RuPc) were fabricated on the PBD-modified substrates, and characterized using UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and electrochemistry. The UV-vis analysis results indicate that the LBL RuPc/Py(Ar)-MWCNTs self-assembled multilayer films with axial ligands between the ruthenium atom and pyridine group were successfully fabricated, and the progressive assembly runs regularly with almost equal amounts of deposition in each cycle. A top view SEM image shows a random and homogeneous distribution of Py(Ar)-MWCNTs over the PBD-modified silicon substrate, which indicates well independence between all Py(Ar)-MWCNTs. Moreover, the opto-electronic conversion was also studied by assembling RuPc/Py(Ar)-MWCNTs multilayer films on PBD-modified ITO substrate. Under illumination, the LBL self-assembled films on ITO showed an effective photoinduced charge transfer because of their conjugated structure and the ITO current density changed with the number of bilayer. As the number of bilayers was increased, the photocurrent increases and reaches its maximum value (∼300 nA/cm(2)) at nine bilayers. These results allow us to design novel materials for applications in optoelectronic devices by using LBL self-assembly techniques.

4-(2-(4-pyridinyl)ethynyl)benzenic diazonium salt (PBD) was synthesized and used to modify the substrate by self-assembly (SA) technique. Following decomposition of the diazonium group in PBD under UV irradiation, the ionic bonds between the diazonium salt and substrate are converted to covalent bonds. The PBD monolayer film anchored on substrates is very stable. Furthermore, the layer-by-layer (LBL) self-assembled films of bis(4,4'-bipyridine)(phthalocyaninato)ruthenium(II) (RuPc(bipy)2, BPR) and triruthenium dodecacarbonyl (Ru3(CO)12, TRDC) were fabricated on the PBD-modified substrates and characterized using UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM), and electrochemistry. The UV-vis analysis results indicate that the LBL TRDC-BPR self-assembled multilayer films with axial ligands between ruthenium atoms and pyridine groups were successfully fabricated and the progressive assembly runs regularly with almost equal amounts of deposition in each cycle. The AFM images of the seven-bilayer TRDC-BPR film on silicon wafer showed round-shaped small domains with sizes of 30-40 nm. The values of the energy band gap (Eg), the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO), and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) of six-bilayer TRDC-BPR on indium-tin-oxide (ITO) glass slides were measured using the UV-vis absorption spectrum and a cyclic voltammogram with values of 1.8, -5.0, and -3.2 eV, respectively. Under illumination, the self-assembled film on ITO showed effective photoinduced charge transfer and changed the current density. As the number of bilayers was increased, the photocurrent increased and reached its maximum value (approximately 150 nA/cm2) at six bilayers. A further increase in the number of bilayers led to a decrease in current due to the increase in cell resistance. The results allow us to design new materials with higher performance for optoelectronic applications.

Whereas aggregation often quenches luminescence, the emission of a heterocyclic luminogen, 10-[2,5-bis(4-pentyloxyphenylcarbonyloxy)phenyl]-9,10-dihydro-9-oxa-10-phosphaphenanthrene-10-oxide (3), is greatly enhanced by aggregate formation. Crystallization further boosts the emission of 3, turning it from a weak emitter in the solution state to a strong emitter in the crystalline state. The emission of 3 is changed in response to the exposure to vapors of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The morphology of the thin film of 3 is reversibly and repeatedly modulated between amorphous and crystalline phases by simple fuming-heating and heating-cooling cycles, leading to an emission switching between bright and dark states. The novel attributes of the crystallization-induced emission enhancement, the VOC-responsive emission change, and the morphology-tunable emission switching of 3 could enable it to find applications in an array of technological areas, including chemosensing, optical display, and rewritable information storage.