π Donation and Its Effects on the Excited-State Lifetimes of Luminescent Platinum(II) Terpyridine Complexes in Solution

Early bird or night owl? Controlling the ultrafast photodynamics of triphenylamine substituted 2,2':6',2''-terpyridine

Controlling the ultrafast photodynamics of metal-free organic molecules has great potential for technological applications. In this work, we use solvent polarity and viscosity as "external knobs" to govern the photodynamics of an electron-donating derivative of 2,2':6',2''-terpyridine (terpy), namely 4'-(4-(di(4-tert-butylphenyl)amine)phenyl)-2,2':6',2''-terpyridine (tBuTPAterpy). We combine femtosecond fluorescence upconversion (FlUC), transient absorption (TA) and quantum mechanical calculations to provide a comprehensive description of the tBuTPAterpy's photodynamics. Our results demonstrate that, by changing the solvent, the time scale of light-induced conformational changes of the system can be tuned over two orders of magnitude, controlling the tBuTPAterpy fluorescence spectral region and yield. As a result, depending on the local environment, tBuTPAterpy can act either as an "early bird" or a "night owl", with a tunability that makes it a promising candidate for metal-free sensors.

Luminescence studies of new [C,N,N′] cyclometallated platinum(ii) and platinum(iv) compounds

New [C,N,N′]-cyclometallated platinum(ii) and platinum(iv) complexes are prepared and their emission properties are reported.

Bismuth as a versatile cation for luminescence in coordination polymers from BiX3/4,4'-bipy: understanding of photophysics by quantum chemical calculations and structural parallels to lanthanides

Coordination polymers (CPs) with bismuth(iii) as a connectivity centre have been prepared from BiX3 (X = Cl-I) and 4,4'-bipyridine (bipy) in order to implement Bi-based luminescence. The products were obtained via different synthetic routes such as solution chemistry, melt syntheses or mechanochemical reactions. Five neutral and anionic 1D-CPs are presented that show a chemical parallel to trivalent lanthanides forming isostructural or closely related 1D-CPs, of which five additional compounds are described. Bi3+ proves to be a versatile cation for luminescence resulting from energy transfer processes between a metal and a ligand in the presented CPs. Quantum chemical calculations were carried out to investigate Bi3+-participation in the luminescence processes. The calculated results allow an assignment of the bright transitions composed of mainly metal-to-ligand-charge transfer (MLCT) character. These results show that Bi3+ can form strongly luminescent coordination compounds with N-donor ligands.

Photophysical Properties of Pt(II) Polypyridines with Five- versus Six-Membered Chelate Rings: Trade-Offs in Angle Strain

This report describes the synthesis and characterization of a series of eight [Pt(NNN)X]⁺ complexes where the tridentate NNN ligand is (2,2'-bipyrid-6-yl)(pyrid-2-yl)sulfide (btp) or methyl(2,2'-bipyrid-6-yl)(pyrid-2-yl)amine (bmap) and X is OMe, Cl, phenylethynyl (C₂Ph), or cyclohexylethynyl (C₂Cy). The expectation was that inserting a heteroatom into the backbone of 2,2':6',2″-terpyridine (trpy) would expand the overall intraligand bite angle, introduce ILCT character into the excited states, and improve the photophysical properties. Crystal structures of [Pt(bmap)C₂Ph]⁺ and [Pt(btp)Cl]⁺ reveal that atom insertion into the trpy backbone successfully expands the bite angle of the ligand by 8-10°. However, the impact on the photophysics is minimal. Indeed, of the eight systems investigated, only the [Pt(bmap)C₂Ph]⁺ and [Pt(btp)C₂Ph]⁺ complexes display appreciable emission in fluid solution, and they exhibit shorter emission lifetimes than [Pt(trpy)C₂Ph]⁺. One reason is that the bond angle preferences of platinum and the inserted heteroatom induce the six-membered rings to deviate from planarity and adopt a boat-like conformation, impairing charge delocalization within the ligand. In addition, angle strain induces the donor atoms about platinum to assume a pseudotetrahedral arrangement, which offsets any benefit due to the increase in overall bite angle by promoting deactivation via d-d excited states. The results reveal that, in order to improve the luminescence of a [Pt(NNN)X]⁺ system, one must take care to avoid trading one kind of angle strain for another.

Spectroscopy, electrochemistry and antiproliferative properties of Au(iii), Pt(ii) and Cu(ii) complexes bearing modified 2,2′:6′,2′′-terpyridine ligands

Impact of the metal centre and the substituent incorporated into a terpy framework.

Tuning a Lanthanide Complex To Be Responsive to the Environment in Solution

The f-f emissions of lanthanide-ion complexes have predictable emission energies and many practical applications, but the emitting states are generally impervious to the surroundings. This investigation explores ligand- and metal-centered emission processes for a series of mixed-ligand complexes of composition M(X-T)(NO3)3, where the metal ion is europium, gadolinium, terbium, or lutetium, and X-T denotes the tridentate ligand 2,2':6',2″-terpyridine (H-T), 4'-phenyl-2,2':6',2″-terpyridine (Ph-T), or 4'-pyrrolidin-N-yl-2,2':6',2″-terpyridine (pyrr-T). The presence of the pyrrolidinyl substituent imparts intraligand charge-transfer (ILCT) character to the ligand-based excited states and reduces the energy gap between the singlet and the triplet excited states. An enhanced rate of intersystem crossing results in a lutetium complex with a relatively small fluorescence quantum yield (0.15%) and a gadolinium complex with an impressive phosphorescence yield of 9.6% in deaerated solution. The Tb(pyrr-T)(NO3)3 system is unique because the relatively low-energy triplet ILCT state equilibrates with the emissive f-f state. The result is a truly remarkable f-f emission signal that is sensitive to the polarity of the local environment as well as the presence of dioxygen.

A platinum(ii) complex bearing deprotonated 2-(diphenylphosphino)benzoic acid for superior phosphorescence of monomers

The (ppy)-based Pt(ii) complex (Pt-1) with 2-(diphenylphosphino)benzoic acid as an ancillary ligand displays monomeric phosphorescence with a remarkably high performance.