Luminescent liquid crystal materials based on unsymmetrical boron difluoride β-diketonate adductsElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Table SI1 containing yields and the analytical data. See DOI: 10.1039/c0nj00503g

A strategic design based on the use of asymmetrically 1,3-alkyloxyphenyl substituted β-diketonate ligands towards the BF 2 group allowed us to find unsymmetrical compounds that, in addition to a high photoluminescent quantum yield, possess a liquid crystal behaviour, which is related to the presence of the banana-shaped liquid crystal mesophases B 1 . Bent-core compounds based on boron difluoride adducts with unsymmetrically 1,3-alkyloxyphenyl substituted β-diketonate ligands are luminescent liquid crystals exhibiting high fluorescence quantum yield. These materials open new opportunities for electro-optical devices.