| Summary: | Here, we report a short series of six new boron Schiff bases (BOSCHIBAs), four of them bearing anionic boron clusters. The boron complexes (1–2) were synthesized by the multicomponent reaction. The Boron Schiff bases were appropriately functionalized with boron cluster anions [B12H12]2− (3–4) and [3,3’-Co(C2B9H11)2]− (5–6). Remarkably, BOSCHIBAs bearing [B12H12]2− showed fluorescence emission to the NIR and far-red regions (3: 747 nm, 4: 690 nm), while 5 and 6 exhibited emission in the UV region (5: 525 and 6: 475 nm). Notably, complexes 2, 5, and 6 showed the highest photostability, followed by the boron complexes 1 and 3, which suggest that the nature of the boron cluster influences photostability properties. Compounds 3–4 represent the first example of boron Schiff bases bearing boron cluster anions [B12H12]2− exhibiting fluorescence emission in the NIR and far-red regions, make them potential candidates as fluorescence probes for bioimaging.
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