AIEgens Based on Anion‐π+ Interactions: Design, Synthesis, Photophysical Properties, and Their Applications in Material Science and Biology

Abstract The design of novel aggregation‐induced emission luminogens (AIEgens), has generally been facilitated by disrupting the possibility of π‐π stacking. The recent literature describes a novel strategy to design AIEgens by introducing anion‐π + interactions to prevent the detrimental π‐π stacking. This new strategy provides access to intrinsically charged AIEgens whose photophysical properties can be tuned either by incorporating different substituents on the π‐molecular scaffold to modulate the acidity for tuning the interaction energy between a π‐acceptor and counter‐anions. This concept article provides a brief overview of the field, focusing on the synthesis of AIEgens, their photophysical properties, crystallography studies and their applications in live cell fluorescence imaging.