Switching the Photoluminescence and Electrochemiluminescence of Liposoluble Porphyrin in Aqueous Phase by Molecular Regulation

Abstract By a facile peripheral decoration of 5‐(4‐aminophenyl)‐10,15,20‐triphenylporphyrin (ATPP) with inherent aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) active tetraphenylethene (TPE), a versatile AIEgenic porphyrin derivative (ATPP‐TPE) was obtained, which greatly abolishes the detrimental π–π stacking and thus surmounts the notorious aggregation‐caused quenching (ACQ) effect of ATPP in aqueous phase. The photoluminescence of ATPP‐TPE is 4.5‐fold stronger than ATPP at aggregation state. Moreover, an unequivocal aggregation induced electrochemiluminescence (AIECL) of ATPP‐TPE was found to be seriously dependent on its aggregation property in aqueous solution with efficiency of 34 %, which is 6 times higher than pure ATPP. The versatility of this molecular structure modulation strategy along with the ACQ‐to‐AIE transformation in this work provides direction to guide for applying liposoluble porphyrins in aqueous phase by designs of synthetic porphyrin AIEgens.