Diaminomaleonitrile-Functionalised Schiff Bases: Synthesis, Solvatochromism, and Lysosome-Specific Imaging

The design of novel organic fluorescent molecules with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) properties has been a research focus in the past two decades. In this work, we report the photophysical studies and potential applications of a series of AIE-active luminogens based on a small building block, a diaminomaleonitrile Schiff base. By taking advantage of easily approachable synthetic procedures and excellent optical properties of this system, we further explored the applications of this system for cell imaging.