Adding aryl groups and/or alkyl side chains to a conjugated structure can control molecular aggregation and enhance aggregation-induced emission (AIE) performance in specific compounds.
Among the three synthesized compounds, BNIC2, which has the shortest carboxyalkyl chain, demonstrates the most robust AIE performance, indicating that the length of the carboxyalkyl chain impacts the fluorescent properties of the compound.

Image courtesy of interviewee. November 24, 2023