AIE and reversible mechanofluorochromism characteristics of new imidazole-based donor–π–acceptor dyes
Ohoud F. Al Sharif, Laila M. Nhari, Reda M. El‐Shishtawy, Mohie E. M. Zayed, Abdullah M. Asiri
Abstract
-hexane to acetonitrile. Moreover, in dioxane/water mixture systems, AIE behaviors were observed, and the emission intensity of 2b-2d dyes increased by around 5, 3, and 3 times in the mixed solvent (dioxane : water = 10 : 90) in contrast to pure dioxane. In addition, the XRD data of the 2a-2d dyes in pristine, ground, and fumed states illustrate that the transition between the ordered crystalline and disordered amorphous phases is the primary cause of MFC behaviors mechanism. Density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) showed that the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) of dyes is distributed on the donor unit. In contrast, the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) is mainly placed on the acceptor unit to reveal that the HOMO-LUMO transition has a great ICT character.