A cyanostilbene-derived tetraphenylethylene based donor for constructing supramolecular sequential light-harvesting systems and their application

<p indent="0mm">The light-harvesting system in natural photosynthesis exhibits efficient energy absorption and transfer, which has inspired the development of various nanocarrier platforms and energy transfer strategies to mimic this natural phenomenon. In this study, we designed and synthesized a cyanostilbene-derived tetraphenylethylene molecule (<bold>TCP</bold>) that also contains a hydrophilic pyridinium salt group. <bold>TCP</bold> self-assembles into nanoparticles in aqueous solution, combining the structural characteristics of tetraphenylethylene and cyanostilbene and their aggregation-induced emission (AIE) properties, and exhibits strong green fluorescence. By incorporating the commercially available dyes eosin Y (<bold>ESY</bold>) and sulforhodamine 101 (<bold>SR101</bold>) as the relay acceptor and the final acceptor into the nanoparticles respectively, the excitation energy from the donor <bold>TCP</bold> can be efficiently transferred to <bold>SR101</bold>, achieving a total energy transfer efficiency of 87.8%. Finally, the prepared light-harvesting nanoparticles were applied to light-emitting diode (LED) devices to achieve color-tunable luminescence. This work demonstrates a strategy to regulate luminescent materials at the molecular and supramolecular levels, constructs an efficient light-harvesting system, and has great potential in the manufacture of bright and tunable luminescent materials.