Functional Polymeric Micromaterials Based on Aggregation-Induced Emission Luminogens

Aggregate materials have attracted tremendous attention because of their modified or totally different properties compared with their molecular counterparts. Among various mesoscopic aggregate materials, polymeric micromaterials possess the advantages of diverse structures and flexible manufacturing, enabling them to serve as excellent carriers for aggregation-induced emission luminogens (AIEgens) and good platforms for the research of aggregate science. In recent years, polymeric micromaterials constructed from AIEgens have witnessed rapid development and show great application potential in various fields, such as environmental sensing, multicolor displaying, and energy conversion. This review summarizes the recent progress on the design, preparation, structure, and applications of AIEgen-based polymeric micromaterials. According to the structure features, AIEgen-based polymeric micromaterials are divided into three categories, including microsphere, microfiber, and other-shaped microparticles. The most representative examples in each category are highlighted by focusing on their subdivision structures such as solid microsphere, porous microsphere, microcapsule, microfiber doped- or coated with AIEgens, and core-shell microfiber. Finally, the challenges and prospects in this research field are also discussed. It is hoped that this review can provide readers with an overall view on the development of AIEgen-based polymeric micromaterials and boost their further research. This review summarizes recent advances and implementation of functional polymeric micromaterials based on aggregation-induced emission luminogens (AIEgens). Diverse typical AIEgen-based polymeric micromaterials, including microsphere, microfiber, and other shaped microparticles, are carefully discussed. Current challenges and future perspectives for the development of AIEgen-based polymeric micromaterials are pointed out at the end.image