Recent progress in the mechanofluorochromism of cyanoethylene derivatives with aggregation-induced emission

As a class of smart materials, mechanofluorochromic (MFC) luminogens have promising applications in mechanosensors, security papers, and optical storage primarily based on their alternation in emission behaviors in response to mechanical stimuli. It has been discovered that most molecules having aggregation-induced emission (AIE) exhibit mechanofluorochromism. As one of the essential AIE cores, cyanoethylene has been widely used to build MFC molecules. This review focuses on the latest advances in the mechanofluorochromism of cyanoethylene derivatives with AIE properties, which incorporates mechanistic studies on mechanofluorochromism and MFC luminogens based on cyanoethylene. We hope that this review will provide a clear outlook on these novel functional materials to a broad range of scientists within exclusive disciplinary areas and attract more researchers to devote themselves to this exciting research area.