Emissive properties and aggregation-induced emission enhancement of excited-state intramolecular proton-transfer compounds

Novel excited-state intramolecular proton-transfer (ESIPT) compounds were designed and synthesized. These compounds give aggregation-induced emission enhancement (AIEE) phenomena when their aggregate nanoparticles are formed in aqueous solution. The mechanism for the AIEE of the molecules has been studied. Because of the unique characteristics of the compounds, the aggregate is an ideal sample to study the energy transfer in solid state and is used as a fluorescent probe for the detection of the fluoride anion in aqueous solution.