Click-formed polymer gels with aggregation-induced emission and dual stimuli-responsive behaviors

Stimuli-responsive polymer gels have recently attracted great attention due to their heat/solvent resistance, dimensional stability, and unique sensitivity to external stimuli. In this work, we synthesized thiol-functionalized tetraphenylethylene (TPE) and constructed polymer gels through thiol-ene click reaction. The synthetic process of the polymer gels could be monitored by fluorescence emission of TPE moieties based on aggregation-induced emission mechanism. In addition, due to the dual redoxand acid responsiveness of the polymer gels, in the presence of dithiothreitol and trifluoroacetic acid, fluorescence quenching of the polymer gels can be observed. This stimuli-responsive characteristics endows the polymer gels with potential applications in fluorescent sensing and imaging, cancer diagnosis and selfhealing materials.