Fluorescence visualization of interactions between surfactants and polymers

Abstract

An aggregation-induced emission (AIE) anionic surfactant, tetraphenylethene–sodium dodecyl sulfonate, is used to image the process of surfactants binding to polymers through the confocal fluorescence microscopy technique. Two inflection points of the interactions between polymers and surfactants are obtained by the change in the fluorescence intensity of the fabricated AIE-active probe. The proposed fluorescence imaging method supports the development of visualization strategies for studying the interactions between surfactants and other polymers.