Aggregation-induced emission of hyperbranched poly(silyl ether)s end-capped by benzyl alcohol and cinnamyl alcohol

In recent years, there has been much interest in unconventional fluorescent polymers that do not include aromatic luminous units due to their facile synthesis, higher biocompatibility, and environment friendliness. In this study, we synthesized hyperbranched poly(silyl ether) covalently end-capped by benzyl alcohol and cinnamyl alcohol and their corresponding nanoparticles. Transmission electron microscopy and DLS were employed to confirm the formation of nanoparticles. Nanoparticles exhibited nontraditional intrinsic luminescence arising from aggregated induced emission. The fluorescence is ascribed to the synergism of vinyl and benzene groups and the Si−O group through space conjugation and aggregation of the polymer into nanoparticles. Moreover, the solvent effect and pH dependency properties of polymers were studied. These findings contribute to our understanding of the fluorescence properties of these polymers and open new possibilities for their practical applications, such as in cancer cell imaging.