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Abstract
A novel traditional fluorophore free bright blue light emitting small organic molecule with aqueous solubility consisting N-substituted maleimide with zwitterionic side chain was explored. The combined experimental and theoretical studies revealed that the fluorescence originated due to the aggregation of N-substituted maleimide molecules named N-(ethyl sulfobetaine) maleimide (M) in solution. It was also observed that the aggregation induced emission (AIE) was originated after certain threshold concentration which was confirmed by both the experiment and the first principal calculations. The aggregation of the M molecule in solution happens predominantly due to nonbonded electrostatic interaction. This finding may add a new dimension to broad sensing application with a feasible molecular strategy.
Supplementary materials
Title
Supporting information for Unexpected Fluorescent Behavior of Maleimide Based Zwitterionic Molecule: Aggregation Induced Emission
Description
The supporting information contains the 1H NMR spectra of each intermediate compounds produced during synthesis of M along with the pure spectrum of final maleimide based zwitterionic derivative (M), the ESI-MS spectra of M, 1H NMR spectrum of SBMA in D2O, concentration dependent UV-visible absorbance spectra and fluorescence emission spectra of M in water at a particular wavelength. The fluorescence spectra of M in water with fixed concentration with variable excitation wavelength prepared via different paths in comparison with the fluorescence emission spectra of intermediate compound 1 and 2 in THF, zwitterionic SBMA with excitation wavelength (λ) 330 nm at same concentration were recorded. Additionally, optimized structure of two, three, four and six M molecules aggregation, derived through DFT calculation, were presented for better understanding of AIE discussion in the main manuscript.
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