Aggregation-induced emission in BF2–hydrazone (BODIHY) complexes

A new family of BF2–hydrazone complexes was developed that exhibit enhanced emission in the solid-state. The modularity of the systems enabled their structure–property analysis, which showed that the solid-state fluorescence quantum yield is dependent on the molecule's planarity, dipole moment and number of π–π interactions it forms. One of the BF2–hydrazone complexes was easily transformed into a solid-state acid/base sensor.