Synthesis, optical properties of multi donor-acceptor substituted AIE pyridine derivatives dyes and application for Au³⁺ detection in aqueous solution

A series of multi donor-acceptor substituted pyridine derivative dyes were synthesed by three-component catalyst-free domino reaction in methanol aqueous at room temperature. The pyridine derivative dyes with thermally stable fluorescence exhibit aggregation-induced emission (AIE) in both aqueous solution and solid state due to the restricted intramolecular rotation as well. Furthermore, the family of molecule dyes showed nearly the full range of color emitters from blue to green and to orange. Moreover, the importance of dyes for heavy and transition metal ion species detection applications was demonstrated via the "turn off" detection of Au³⁺ in aqueous solution with the simple synthetic approach and high selectivity and sensitivity.