Highlights on the Road towards Highly Emitting Solid-State Luminophores: Two Classes of Thiazole-Based Organoboron Fluorophores with the AIEE/AIE Effect.

Developing a novel, small-sized molecular building block that may be capable of emitting light in the solid state is a challenging task and has rarely been reported in the literature. BF2 -containing dyes seem to be promising candidates towards this aim. Two series of new N^NBF2 complexes showing aggregation-induced emission (AIE) and aggregation-induced emission enhancement (AIEE) were designed and synthesized by means of a new protocol, which improved on the traditional method by employing microwave irradiation. The optical and photophysical properties of the BF2 complexes were investigated in depth. The synthesized complexes showed fluorescence in both solution and the solid state and, in a mixture of tetrahydrofuran/water, may aggregate into fluorescent nanoparticles. The experimental investigation was supported by quantum mechanical calculations. Their availability, stability, large Stokes shifts, and aggregation capabilities, along with their solid-state emission capability, render this new class of BF2 complexes promising AIEE/AIE fluorophores for further applications in the fields of fluorescence imaging and materials science.