Thermoresponsive Amphipathic Fluorescent Organic Liquid

We herein report a thermoresponsive amphipathic fluorescent organic liquid, tetraethylene glycol (TEG) ester-substituted tetraphenylethylene (TPE), 1, as a new class of functional organic material. AIE fluorescence of 1 could be modulated by controlling the temperature. The introduction of hydrophilic PEG chains induced the formation of a uniform fluorescent colloidal supramolecular structure in H2O. This colloidal structure of 1 also showed temperature-dependent fluorescence due to its motility in the supramolecular structure and the collapse/precipitation of the colloid of 1.