A highly fluorescent tri-nuclear boron complex with large Stokes shifts based on tripodal Schiff base: synthesis and photophysical properties

Abstract

In this study, a new imine-based tripodal ligand and its difluoroboron complex were designed and synthesized. This trinuclear-boron complex was prepared for the first time and fully characterized by common spectroscopic techniques such as $$^{1}$$ H-NMR, $$^{13}$$ C-NMR, FT-IR, UV–Vis and MS analysis. The optical and fluorescence properties of complex were examined in $$\hbox {CHCl}_{{3}}$$ , THF, acetonitrile, EtOAc, DMF and DMSO. It was revealed that the obtained boron complex showed intense emission with large Stokes shifts in the range from 83 nm to 96 nm. As a result of quantification of fluorescence quantum yields, it has been observed that it has high quantum yield values up to 48%. The large Stokes shifts and high efficient emissions in the solutions of boron complex make it precious fluorophore for potential applications in materials science. SYNOPSIS: The synthesis and characterization of a new four coordinated trinuclear boron complex and its optical properties are reported. The results show that the obtained new fluorophore could be beneficial for fluorescent materials due to presenting large Stokes shifts and high efficient blue emissions.