Recent advances in the synthesis of luminescent tetra-coordinated boron compounds

Tetra-coordinated boron compounds offer a plethora of luminescent materials. Different chelation around the boron center (O,O-, N,C-, N,O-, and N,N-) has been explored to tune the electronic and photophysical properties of tetra-coordinated boron compounds. A number of fascinating molecules with interesting properties such as aggregation induced emission, mechanochromism and tunable emission by changing the solvent polarity were realised. Owing to their rich and unique properties, some of the molecules have shown applications in making optoelectronic devices, probes and so on. This perspective provides an overview of the recent developments of tetra-coordinated boron compounds and their potential applications.