Complexation of bulky camphorsulfonic acid to enhance emission of organic and polymeric fluorophores with inherent quinoline moiety

In this study, we reported the first example of enhanced photoluminescent (PL) emission by complexing bulky camphorsulfonic acid (CSA) to organic and polymeric materials containing quinoline moiety. Small-molecule 2,4-diphenylquinoline (DPQ) and poly(vinyl 2,4-enylquinoline) (PVQ) were prepared primarily and complexed with equivalent amounts of CSA to generate the DPQ-CSA and PVQ-CSA complexes, respectively. All samples show the character of aggregation-induced emission (AIE); however, DPQ-CSA and PVQ-CSA complexes have higher emission intensities than their respective precursors of DPQ and PVQ. The CSA-complexation tends to hamper the molecular rotations and leads to the observed emission enhancement.