Tetraphenylethylene-based phosphine: tuneable emission and carbon dioxide fixation.

A tetraphenylethylene-based phosphine, 1,1,2,2-tetrakis((4-diphenylphosphino)phenyl)ethylene (TPE-P4), was synthesized and showed novel aggregation-induced and mechano-responsive emission. A mixture of TPE-P4 and Ag(+) could fix atmospheric CO2in situ as carbonate ions in neutral solution to yield a rare 3D metal-organic framework with zeolite-like SOD topology, [Ag2(TPE-P4)CO3]x⊃nH2O (Ag-TPE-P4). Ag-TPE-P4 showed turn-on luminescence of TPE-P4, emitting bright bluish green light in the solid state.