Citation: Xinfang Cui, Zehong Wang, Yingjiang Li, Yufeng Xiong, Tong Zhou, Xiangdong Peng, Guanghui Zhao, Lijie Dong. Rapid OFF–ON photoinduced electron transfer probe based on triphenylamine and PROXYL radical specifically activated by benzoyl peroxide[J]. Chinese Chemical Letters, ;2026, 37(11): 112340. doi: 10.1016/j.cclet.2025.112340 shu

Rapid OFF–ON photoinduced electron transfer probe based on triphenylamine and PROXYL radical specifically activated by benzoyl peroxide

Xinfang Cui ^a ,
Zehong Wang ^{a, *,} ,
Yingjiang Li ^a ,
Yufeng Xiong ^a ,
Tong Zhou ^a ,
Xiangdong Peng ^a ,
Guanghui Zhao ^{b, *,} ,
Lijie Dong ^{a, c, d, *,}

a.
Center for Smart Materials and Devices, State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China
b.
Research Center for Materials Genome Engineering, International Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China
c.
Hubei Longzhong Laboratory, Xiangyang 441138, China
d.
School of Materials and Metallurgy, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430065, China

prcwangzehong@whut.edu.cn

zhaogh@whut.edu.cn

dong@whut.edu.cn

Received Date: 3 September 2025
Revised Date: 12 December 2025
Accepted Date: 29 December 2025
Available Online: 29 December 2025

Figures(7)

Triphenylamine (TPA)-based fluorescent probes offer strong aggregation-induced emission (AIE) and versatile donor–acceptor (D–A) motifs, yet their practical applicability is limited by poor selectivity and background emission from non-specific acceptor reactions. Herein, we present TPA-PROXYL, a photoinduced electron transfer (PET)–mediated "OFF–ON" probe that merges AIE-active TPA scaffold with a stable 2,2,5,5-tetramethyl-3-pyrrolin-1-oxyl (PROXYL) radical for highly specific benzoyl peroxide (BPO) detection. Upon selective oxidation of the PROXYL moiety by BPO in DMF at 100 ℃ for 1 h, PET is suppressed, and yielding a strong fluorescence turn-on at 465 nm (λ_ex = 365 nm). Notably, the probe is activated at 0.5 mmol/L BPO and achieves a low detection limit of 211 nmol/L with good linearity, while maintaining high selectivity against redox interferents such as glutathione (GSH), ascorbic acid (VC), and cysteine (CYS). Furthermore, the recovery rate exceeding 84% in real sample applications demonstrates the robustness and practicality of TPA-PROXYL. By integrating the PET modulation with AIE activity, this strategy establishes a high-fidelity sensing platform with exceptional specificity and sensitivity, offering strong potential for on-site BPO surveillance and broader small-molecule detection in complex matrices.
- Triphenylamine,
- Stable PROXYL radical,
- Photoinduced electron transfer,
- OFF–ON probe,
- BPO detection
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