Synergy of CO2-response and aggregation induced emission in a small molecule: renewable liquid and solid CO2 chemosensors with high sensitivity and visibility

A tetraphenylethylene (TPE) derivative, (N,N-dimethyl-N′-(4-(1,2,2-triphenylvinyl)phenyl)acetimidamide (TPE-amidine), was designed and synthesized, and used to prepare visible and renewable CO₂ chemosensors, TPE-amidine-L (liquid) and TPE-amidine-S (solid).