New Mechanistic Insights into the AIE Phenomenon

Luminescent materials with characteristics of AIE have drawn extensive attention. AIE now becomes not only a phenomenon but also a synonym of a class of novel functional materials. Deciphering of the underlying mechanisms is of great importance to fundamental understanding, luminogens explorations, and advanced applications. In this chapter, we conduct an in-depth mechanistic discussion on this special photophysical process focusing on the recently proposed mechanism of the restriction of intramolecular motion. We derived that the structural rigidification of a flexible luminogen is the intrinsic cause of AIE effect, which may serve as a rationale design principle for novel AIE systems.