In 2001, Ben Zhong Tang found that 1-methyl-1,2,3,4,5-pentaphenylsilile does not emit light in acetonitrile. However, it emits strong green fluorescence in an acetonitrile solution containing large amounts of poor solvent (water). This phenomenon led Tang to propose the concept of aggregation-induced emission (AIE). Through subsequent research, he theorized and verified the mechanism behind AIE, called the restriction of intramolecular motion (RIM). Tang's work pioneered a new field of research. Based on the RIM mechanism, researchers constructed a large number of structurally diverse small molecules, polymers, and organometallic complexes with AIE characteristics.

Since the concept of AIE was first proposed, it has gradually grown from an idea to a field of science that attracts dedicated researchers from around the world. Many research articles and reviews have been published over the past two decades. Though several works have provided a literature overview publications of this field, as database developer, our ASBase team updated the publication statistics and analysis of the AIE researches to 2023, based on the data collected from the Web of Science Core Collection with our search strategies.

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The publication data up to 2025 will be updated soon.....