Three isomeric phenanthroline compounds, namely 2-DP, 3-DP and 5-DP, are constructed by incorporating 4-(2,2-diphenyl-vinyl)-phenyl unit into 2-, 3-, and 5-positions of phenanthroline. This approach functionalizes these compounds to exhibit different solvatochromism effects and metal-ion sensing abilities. 2-DP shows no obvious sensitivity for proton solvent and metal ions, but it's quite the opposite for 3-DP and 5-DP. Significantly, 3-DP possesses higher selectivity and sensitivity to Zn²⁺ than 5-DP to Zn²⁺, with a limit of detection down to 10⁻⁸ M. The density function theory calculations reveal that their different sensing behaviors are related to their steric hindrance and electronic effects. Moreover, 2-DP, 3-DP and 5-DP all exhibit aggregation-induced enhanced emission (AIEE), in which the photoluminescence (PL) enhancement of 2-DP is the biggest in aggregated state. It is thought that the molecule torsion degree is responsible for their different AIEE behaviors, which is supported by the X-ray structural analysis. The isomer engineering for phenanthroline provides a simple method to enhance the selectivity and sensitivity to metal ions, and to optimize solid-state luminescence properties.

通过将4-（2,2-二苯基-乙烯基）-苯基单元并入菲咯啉的2-，3-和5-位，可构建三种异构的菲咯啉化合物，即2-DP，3-DP和5-DP。该方法使这些化合物官能化，以表现出不同的溶剂变色效应和金属离子感测能力。2-DP对质子溶剂和金属离子没有明显的敏感性，但是对于3-DP和5-DP则相反。显着的是，3-DP对Zn ^2+的选择性和灵敏度高于5-DP对Zn ^2+的灵敏度，检测限低至10 ^-8 M.密度函数理论计算表明，它们的不同传感行为与其空间位阻和电子效应有关。此外，2-DP，3-DP和5-DP均表现出聚集诱导的增强发射（AIEE），其中2-DP的光致发光（PL）增强在聚集状态下最大。人们认为，分子的扭转程度是造成它们不同的AIEE行为的原因，这是由X射线结构分析所支持的。菲咯啉的异构体工程技术提供了一种简单的方法来增强对金属离子的选择性和敏感性，并优化固态发光性能。