The optical behavior of amorphous microribbons for hydroxy-naphthol based Schiff bases

Three Schiff bases derivatives, L1, L2 and L3, consisting of hydroxy-naphthol and thiazole group, exhibited AIEE effect in Diox-H2O mixture with fw 95% (for L1 and L2) or 99% (for L3). The formation of amorphous nanoparticles is advantageous for emission enhancement. The drastic blue-shift and an enhancement of emission efficiency were also observed in L1-L3 with the morphology change from the crystalline to the amorphous state in solid by grinding. It was found that L1 AIEE system could be constructed as a chemoprobe towards Cu2+ fluorescence recognition, with higher selectivity and sensitivity compared to L1 in Diox solution.149