Cu(I) photosensitizers with alkylated diphosphines: Towards enhancing photostability and architecture extension

Photoactive Copper Complexes: Properties and Applications

Photocatalyzed and photosensitized chemical processes have seen growing interest recently and have become among the most active areas of chemical research, notably due to their applications in fields such as medicine, chemical synthesis, material science or environmental chemistry. Among all homogeneous catalytic systems reported to date, photoactive copper(I) complexes have been shown to be especially attractive, not only as alternative to noble metal complexes, and have been extensively studied and utilized recently. They are at the core of this review article which is divided into two main sections. The first one focuses on an exhaustive and comprehensive overview of the structural, photophysical and electrochemical properties of mononuclear copper(I) complexes, typical examples highlighting the most critical structural parameters and their impact on the properties being presented to enlighten future design of photoactive copper(I) complexes. The second section is devoted to their main areas of application (photoredox catalysis of organic reactions and polymerization, hydrogen production, photoreduction of carbon dioxide and dye-sensitized solar cells), illustrating their progression from early systems to the current state-of-the-art and showcasing how some limitations of photoactive copper(I) complexes can be overcome with their high versatility.

Noncovalent Surface Modification of Metal-Organic Frameworks: Unscrambling Adsorption Properties via Isothermal Titration Calorimetry

Despite the importance of noncovalent interactions in the utilization of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), using these interactions to functionalize MOFs has rarely been explored. The ease of functionalization and potential for surface-selective functionalization makes modification via noncovalent interactions promising for the creation of porous photocatalytic assemblies. Using isothermal titration calorimetry, photoluminescence measurements, and desorption experiments, we have explored the nature and magnitude of the interactions of [Ru(bpy)₂(bpy-R)]²⁺-functionalized dyes with the surface of MIL-96, where R = C₃, C₈, C₁₂, and C₁₈ alkyl chains of either straight-chain or cyclic conformations. The orientation of the dyes appears to be flat against the surface with respect to the long alkyl chains, and the surface concentration approaches a monolayer at high initial concentrations of dye. Strangely, the dodecyl-functionalized dye, despite having a smaller interaction energy and larger footprint than either octyl-functionalized dye, achieves the highest maximum surface concentration. Based on photoluminescence spectra, desorption experiments, and ITC data, we believe this is due to the core of the dye being lifted from the surface as the chain length increases. Our understanding of these interactions is important for further utilization of this method for the functionalization of the internal and external surface areas of MOFs.

TADF: Enabling luminescent copper(i) coordination compounds for light-emitting electrochemical cells

The last decade has seen a surge of interest in the emissive behaviour of copper(i) coordination compounds, both neutral compounds that may have applications in organic light-emitting doides (OLEDs) and copper-based ionic transition metal complexes (Cu-iTMCs) with potential use in light-emitting electrochemical cells (LECs). One of the most exciting features of copper(i) coordination compounds is their possibility to exhibit thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) in which the energy separation of the excited singlet (S₁) and excited triplet (T₁) states is very small, permitting intersystem crossing (ISC) and reverse intersystem crossing (RISC) to occur at room temperature without the requirement for the large spin-orbit coupling inferred by the presence of a heavy metal such as iridium. In this review, we focus mainly in Cu-iTMCs, and illustrate how the field of luminescent compounds and those exhibiting TADF has developed. Copper(i) coordination compounds that class as Cu-iTMCs include those containing four-coordinate [Cu(P^P)(N^N)]⁺ (P^P = large-bite angle bisphosphane, and N^N is typically a diimine), [Cu(P)₂(N^N)]⁺ (P = monodentate phosphane ligand), [Cu(P)(tripodal-N₃)]⁺, [Cu(P)(N^N)(N)]⁺ (N = monodentate N-donor ligand), [Cu(P^P)(N^S)]⁺ (N^S = chelating N,S-donor ligand), [Cu(P^P)(P^S)]⁺ (P^S = chelating P,S-donor ligand), [Cu(P^P)(NHC)]⁺ (NHC = N-heterocyclic carbene) coordination domains, dinuclear complexes with P^P and N^N ligands, three-coordinate [Cu(N^N)(NHC)]⁺ and two-coordinate [Cu(N)(NHC)]⁺ complexes. We pay particular attention to solid-state structural features, e.g. π-stacking interactions and other inter-ligand interactions, which may impact on photoluminescence quantum yields. Where emissive Cu-iTMCs have been tested in LECs, we detail the device architectures, and this emphasizes differences which make it difficult to compare LEC performances from different investigations.

Heteroleptic [Cu(P^P)(N^N)][PF6] Complexes: Effects of Isomer Switching from 2,2′-biquinoline to 1,1′-biisoquinoline

The preparation and characterization of [Cu(POP)(biq)][PF6] and [Cu(xantphos)(biq)][PF6] are reported (biq = 1,1′-biisoquinoline, POP = bis(2-(diphenylphosphanyl)phenyl)ether, and xantphos = (9,9-dimethyl-9H-xanthene-4,5-diyl)bis(diphenylphosphane). The single crystal structure of [Cu(POP)(biq)][PF6] 0.5Et2O was determined and compared to that in three salts of [Cu(POP)(bq)]+ in which bq = 2,2′-biquinoline. The P–C–P angle is 114.456(19)o in [Cu(POP)(biq)]+ compared to a range of 118.29(3)–119.60(3)o [Cu(POP)(bq)]+. There is a change from an intra-POP PPh2-phenyl/(C6H4)2O-arene π-stacking in [Cu(POP)(biq)]+ to a π-stacking contact between the POP and bq ligands in [Cu(POP)(bq)]+. In solution and at ambient temperatures, the [Cu(POP)(biq)][PF6]+ and [Cu(xantphos)(biq)]+ cations undergo several concurrent dynamic processes, as evidenced in their multinuclear NMR spectra. The photophysical and electrochemical behaviors of the heteroleptic copper (I) complexes were investigated, and the effects of changing from bq to biq are described. Short Cu···O distances within the [Cu(POP)(biq)]+ and [Cu(xantphos)(biq)]+ cations may contribute to their very low photoluminescent quantum yields.