New ferrocenyl derivative with controllable aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics

Abstract

A novel molecular switch, 7-(N,N-diethylamino)-2-oxo-2H-chromen-4-yl ferrocene carboxylate (FCC), was synthesized and fully characterized by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, and HRMS. Taking advantage of the properties of ferrocene as an electron donor active unit and the coumarin as a fluorescent unit, the dyad FCC shows a fast and reversible redox-switchable fluorescence emission. In sharp contrast to most photoluminescent chromophores, FCC has a unique enhanced emission through aggregation. The change of electrochemical signals (CV and DPV) indicated that the ferrocene (F_c) unit of FCC could form inclusion complex with Me-b-cyclodextrin (CD). This inclusion complex could further weaken the aggregation-induced emission (AIE) effect remarkably. This advance paves the way to introduce AIE property into molecular devices applications.

Keywords

ferrocene / cyclodextrin / molecular switch / fluorescence / aggregation-induced emission (AIE)