Luminescent hexagonal microtubes prepared through water-induced self-assembly of a polymorphic organoboron compound: formation mechanism and waveguide behaviour.

Tetra-coordinated organoboron (TCOB) compounds are promising candidates for developing high-performance optical devices due to their excellent optoelectronic performance. Fabricating TCOB-based nanomaterials of controlled and defined morphology through rapid and easy-to-execute protocols can significantly accelerate their practical utility in the aforesaid applications. Herein, we report water-induced self-assembly (WISA) to convert a polymorphic TCOB complex (HNBI-B, derived from a 2-(2'-hydroxy-naphthyl)-benzimidazole precursor) into two unique nanomorphologies