Multicolor fluorescent probes for volatile organic vapors based on poly(tetraphenylethylene-co-phenylene)s prepared via solid-state oxidative coupling polymerization.

The development of effective detectors for volatile organic vapor detection has attracted extensive attention. Through solid-state oxidative coupling polymerization, poly(tetraphenylethylene-co-phenylene)s were prepared by mechanical grinding of tetraphenylethylene and 1,4-dipentoxybenzene with FeCl 3 as the oxidative catalyzer. The FT-IR and NMR spectra confirmed the main chain to be composed of segments of dipentoxybenzenes, segments of tetraphenylethylenes, and segments of fused ring structures, which were formed via the intermolecular coupling reaction and intramolecular coupling reaction. With the increased ratios of TPE monomers, the copolymers displayed a concentration-induced discoloration behavior from blue-emitting red-shifting to green-emitting. Although the formation of planar fused rings led to an ACQ phenomenon of the copolymers, the polymer conformations, and the polymer stacking could be adjusted by solvent molecules absorbed by the TLC plates, thereby the copolymers could be used as fluorescent probes for various violate organic vapors. The multicolor fluorescent could be observed by the naked eye to distinguish a variety of organic molecules with similar structures, for example, methanol and other alcohols, pentane and other alkanes, the dimethyl benzenes with different substitution positions, and so on. Therefore, multicolor fluorescent probes have a potential application in the detection of volatile organic vapors. [Display omitted] • Through the solid-state oxidative coupling polymerization, PTP was synthesized. • The concentration-induced discoloration property could be observed from PTP. • Multicolor fluorescence response of PTP to various volatile organic vapors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]