A straight forward synthetic route for solid-emissive carbon dots from AIE-active precursors.

Carbon dots (CDs) with solid-state emission are becoming the eager pursuit for researchers under the continuous and in-depth development of carbon materials. A general strategy for efficiently constructing solid-emissive CDs is of importance. Here, solid-emissive CDs were successfully prepared using aggregation-induced emission (AIE) amino-substituted tetraphenylethylene as precursor. Thus obtained CDs well inherited the AIE properties of precursors with improved pH stability and bio-imaging performance. • An aggregation-induced emission (AIE) precursor afforded AIE CDs, whose fluorescence in the solid state was greatly improved. • The AIE property of CDs was related with the rotors and retained in the final products. • The pH stability of the AIE-active CDs was improved, which is beneficial to the application of AIE-active CDs. • It helps us better understand the RIM mechanism for AIE and provides preparation guidance for AIE CDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]