Cyclometalated Platinum(II) Metallomesogens Based on Half-Disc-Shaped β-Diketonate Ligands with Hexacatenar: Crystal Structures, Mesophase Properties, and Semiconductor Devices

A series of new half-disc-shaped platinum(II) complexes [Pt(ppy)(ALⁿ-6OC_nH_2n+1)] (Pt-An), [Pt(ppyF)(ALⁿ-6OC_nH_2n+1)] (Pt-Bn), and [Pt(ppyCF₃)(ALⁿ-6OC_nH_2n+1)] (Pt-Cn) (ALⁿ-6OC_nH_2n+1 = 1,3-bis(3,4,5-trialkoxyphenyl)propane-1,3-dionato; n = 1, 6, 12) with concise structures have been designed and synthesized, in which 2-phenylpyridine (ppy) derivatives were used as cyclometalated ligands and hexacatenar β-diketonate derivatives ALⁿ-6OC_nH_2n+1 as auxiliary ligands. The single-crystal data of the methoxy diketonate analogues Pt-A1, Pt-B1, and Pt-C1 indicate that they all display excellent square planarity. These platinum(II) complexes show a certain emission tunability (ranging from λ = 506-535 nm) by the introduction of fluorine or trifluoromethyl into ppy. Thermal studies reveal that the fluorine-substituted complexes are liquid crystals but the trifluoromethyl-substituted complexes are not. The platinum(II) complexes Pt-A12, Pt-B6, and Pt-B12 can form a hexagonal columnar mesophase via intermolecular π-π interactions. In addition, compared to the reported platinum(II) metallomesogens, Pt-A12 and Pt-B12 exhibit improved ambipolar carrier mobility behaviors in semiconductor devices at the liquid crystal states.

Advanced Functional Luminescent Metallomesogens: The Key Role of the Metal Center

The use of liquid crystals for the fabrication of displays incorporated in technological devices (TVs, calculators, screens of eBook's, tablets, watches) demonstrates the relevance that these materials have had in our way of living. However, society evolves, and improved devices are looked for as we create a more efficient and safe technology. In this context, metallomesogens can behave as multifunctional materials because they can combine the fluidic state of the mesophases with properties such as photo and electroluminescence, which offers new exciting possibilities in the field of optoelectronics, energy, environment, and even biomedicine. Herein, it has been established the role of the molecular geometry induced by the metal center in metallomesogens to achieve the self-assembly required in the liquid-crystalline mesophase. Likewise, the effect of the coordination environment in metallomesogens has been further analyzed because of its importance to induce mesomorphism. The structural analysis has been combined with an in-depth discussion of the properties of these materials, including their current and potential future applications. This review will provide a solid background to stimulate the development of novel and attractive metallomesogens that allow designing improved optoelectronic and microelectronic components. Additionally, nanoscience and nanotechnology could be used as a tool to approach the design of nanosystems based on luminescent metallomesogens for use in bioimaging or drug delivery.

Lipophilic Re(CO)3pyca complexes for Mid-IR imaging applications

Several Re(i)pyca conjugates incorporating long aliphatic amines have been synthesized through a one-pot methodology. The compounds have been fully characterized, and seven compounds have been structurally elucidated by single crystal X-ray diffraction. The C14 variant was probed as a potential organometallic IR dye. Large unilamellar vesicles were generated with DOPC and the C14 compound and we observed incorporation of the rhenium complex as observed by FTIR microscopy.

Striking Increase in Hole Mobility upon Metal Coordination to Triphenylene Schiff Base Semiconducting Multicolumnar Mesophases

This paper reports the synthesis, liquid-crystal behavior, and charge-transport properties in the mesophase of triphenylene Schiff bases and their copper(II), nickel(II), and oxovanadium(IV) complexes. The thermal and electronic properties of the Schiff bases are modulated by coordination to the corresponding metal moieties, which have the ability to self-assemble into linear structures and help the alignment of the triphenylene columns. This produces two kinds of electronically nonconnected columnar regions, one purely organic and one more inorganic. The most remarkable effect is a striking charge mobility enhancement in the metal-containing mesophases, due to the contribution of the more inorganic columns: in comparison to values of hole mobility along the columnar stacking for the purely organic columnar mesophases, on the order of 10^-7 cm² V^-1 s^-1, these values jump to 1-10 cm² V^-1 s^-1 in these hybrid inorganic/organic columnar materials.

Fluorenone imidazolium salts as novel de Vries materials

In ionic liquid crystals (ILCs) tilted mesophases such as SmC required for electro-optic devices are quite rare. We report a design concept that induced the SmC phase and enabled de Vries-like behaviour in ILCs. For this purpose, we synthesized and characterized a library of ILC derivatives ImR(On,Ym)X which consist of a rigid central fluorenone core containing an alkoxy or thioether side chain and connected via a flexible spacer to an imidazolium head group. The mesomorphic properties were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), polarizing optical microscopy (POM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Temperature-dependent measurements of smectic layer spacing d by small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and of optical tilt angles by POM demonstrate that ILCs ImR(On,Ym)X undergo SmA–SmC phase transitions with maximum layer contraction values between 0.4% and 2.1%. The lowest reduction factor R of 0.2 at the reduced temperature T − T_AC = −10 K was calculated for Im(O12,S14)Br. Electron density calculations indicated a bilayer structure. Furthermore, temperature dependent emission studies show that self-assembling has a strong influence on the emission intensity of these ILCs.

ILCs consisting of cationic head group–spacer–fluorenone central core–side chain show de Vries-like behaviour.

Platinum-based metallomesogens bearing a Pt(4,6-dfppy)(acac) skeleton: synthesis, photophysical properties and polarised phosphorescence application

Polarised phosphorescence has a bright future in backlighting for conventional liquid crystal displays due to its theoretical 100% internal quantum efficiency and low cost. However, there are scarce reports on polarised phosphorescence from metallomesogens. In this contribution, a platinum-based metallomesogen containing a mesogenic biphenyl (Pt1) was prepared and characterised. To further explore the effect of the substituent on mesophase and emission properties, a related complex Pt2 containing a tetraphenylethene (TPE) moiety was also synthesised. Both complexes melt at elevated temperatures but thereafter do not appear to crystallise on cooling. Complex Pt1 shows an enantiotropic nematic phase from which a broad emission can be seen when spread as a film; in solution, an intense, sky-blue emission is observed. For Pt2, which shows a monotropic SmA phase, the emission in the condensed phase is suppressed and there is only weak emission in solution. Polarisation-dependent photoluminescence with a polarised ratio of 5.4 was obtained for the aligned film of a Pt1:polyimide mixture. Using Pt1 as an emissive layer, non-doped, polarised organic light-emitting diodes presented a broad emission spectrum in the range of 450-900 nm with a polarised ratio of 1.33 and the highest external quantum efficiency of 1.1%. This research has an important significance for achieving broad-based polarised phosphorescence from platinum complex-based metallomesogens.

An efficient room-temperature synthesis of highly phosphorescent styrenic Pt(ii) complexes and their polymerization by ATRP

Cyclometalated Pt(ii) complexes are among the most efficient phosphorescent materials, yet their incorporation into polymers remains rare.

New phosphorescent platinum(ii) complexes with tetradentate C*N^N*C ligands: liquid crystallinity and polarized emission

Novel tetradentate cyclometalated platinum(ii) complexes bearing two peripheral alkoxy chains can self-assemble into thermotropic smectic liquid crystalline complexes and show a polarized emission.

Novel columnar metallomesogens based on cationic platinum(ii) complexes without long peripheral chains

Phosphorescent cationic platinum(ii) complexes without any peripheral flexible chains around the platinum(ii) center show thermotropic columnar liquid crystal properties.

Tuning liquid crystalline phase behaviour in columnar crown ethers by sulfur substituents

Sulfur-containing side chains in the periphery ofo-terphenyl or triphenylene units of crown ethers induce room-temperature columnar mesophases.

New phosphorescent platinum(ii) complexes: lamellar mesophase and mechanochromism

Several new square planar platinum(ii) complexes based on modified 2-phenylpyridine derivatives as the main ligand and picolinic acid as the auxiliary ligand were synthesized and their photophysical properties, and mechanochromic and liquid crystalline behavior were investigated.

New metal complexes of N3 tridentate ligand: synthesis, spectral studies and biological activity

New tridentate ligand 3-amino-4-{1,5-dimethyl-3-[2-(5-methyl-1H-indol-3-yl)-ethylimino]-2phenyl-2,3-dihydro-1H-pyrazol-4-ylazo}-phenol L was synthesized from the reaction of 1,5-dimethyl-3-[2-(5-methyl-1H-indol-3-yl)-ethylimino]-2-phenyl-2,3-dihydro-1H-pyrazol-4-ylamine and 3.4-amino phenol. A complexes of these ligand [Ni(II)(L)(H2O)2 Cl]Cl, [pt(IV)(L)Cl3]Cl and [M(II)(L)Cl]Cl (M=Pd (II), Zn (II), Cd (II) and Hg (II) were synthesized. The complexes were characterized by spectroscopic methods and magnetic moment measurements, elemental analysis, metal content, Chloride containing and conductance. These studies revealed octahedral geometries for the Ni (II), pt (IV) complexes, square planar for Pd (II) complex and tetrahedral for the Zn (II), Cd(II) and Hg (II) complexes. The study of complexes formation via molar ratio and job method in DMF solution has been investigated and results were consistent to those found in the solid complexes with a ratio of (M:L) as (1:1). The thermodynamic parameters, such as ΔE(*), ΔH(*), ΔS(*) ΔG(*) and K are calculated from the TGA curve using Coats-Redfern method. Hyper Chem-8 program has been used to predict structural geometries of compounds in gas phase. The synthesized ligand and its metal complexes were screened for their biological activity against bacterial species, two Gram positive bacteria (Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus) and two Gram negative bacteria (Escherichia coli and Pseudomonasaeruginosa).

Crystal structure of (2-{3-[4-(4'-cyano-biphenyl-4-yl-oxy)but-oxy]pyridin-2-yl-κN}-5-(dodec-yloxy)phenyl-κC (1))(9-oxo-tetra-cos-7-en-7-olato-κ(2) O,O')platinum(II)

The central Pt(II) atom in the title compound, [Pt(C40H47N2O3)(C24H45O2)], has a slightly distorted square-planar coordination environment. The dihedral angle between the plane formed by Pt and the chelating C and N atoms and that formed by Pt and the chelating O atoms is 2.1 (3)°. The angle between the planes of the two rings in the biphenyl-4-carbo-nitrile unit is 35.1 (5)°. One lateral alkane chain is disordered over two sets of sites with site occupancy factors in a 0.595 (7):0.405 (7) ratio.

Morphology-driven absorption and emission colour changes in liquid-crystalline, cyclometallated platinum(ii) complexes

Platinum(ii) complexes of 1,3-bis(2-pyridyl)benzene containing two alkyl chains are unexpectedly mesomorphic and capable of changing absorption and emission colour depending on the phase obtained after thermal treatment.

Tunable emissive lanthanidomesogen derived from a room-temperature liquid-crystalline Schiff-base ligand

A novel photoluminescent room-temperature liquid-crystalline salicylaldimine Schiff base with a short alkoxy substituent and a series of lanthanide(III) complexes of the type [Ln(LH)3(NO3)3] (Ln = La, Pr, Sm, Gd, Tb, Dy; LH = (E)-5-(hexyloxy)-2-[{2-(2-hydroxyethylamino)ethylimino]methyl}phenol) have been synthesized and characterized by FTIR, (1)H and (13)C NMR, UV/Vis, and FAB-MS analyses. The ligand coordinates to the metal ions in its zwitterionic form. The thermal behavior of the compounds was investigated by polarizing optical microscopy (POM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The ligand exhibits an enantiotropic hexagonal columnar (Col(h)) mesophase at room temperature and the complexes show an enantiotropic lamellar columnar (Col(L)) phase at around 120 °C with high thermal stability. Based on XRD results, different space-filling models have been proposed for the ligand and complexes to account for the columnar mesomorphism. The ligand exhibits intense blue emission both in solution and in the condensed state. The most intense emissions were observed for the samarium and terbium complexes, with the samarium complex glowing with a bright-orange light (ca. 560-644 nm) and the terbium complex emitting green light (ca. 490-622 nm) upon UV irradiation. DFT calculations performed by using the DMol3 program at the BLYP/DNP level of theory revealed a nine-coordinate structure for the lanthanide complexes.

Silver-pyrazole complexes as hybrid multifunctional materials with metallomesogenic and photoluminescent behaviour

New pyridine-functionalised pyrazole compounds [Hpz(R(n)py)] (R(n) = C(6)H(4)OC(n)H(2n+1); n = 12, 14, 16, 18; 1-4) and their corresponding silver complexes [Ag(Hpz(R(n)py))(2)][A] ([A] = NO(3)(-), BF(4)(-); ) have been synthesised and characterised. All of them, with the exception of 1, are liquid crystal materials exhibiting monotropic or enantiotropic SmA mesophases, in contrast to the non-mesomorphic related R(n)-monosubstituted compounds. Because the molecular shape is a factor determinant in the organisation of molecules in the liquid crystal phase, we were interested in solving the crystal structure of representative examples of the mentioned compounds, such as 1 and 6. So, the X-ray crystal structure of [Hpz(R(12)py)] 1 shows the presence of dimeric units through N-H···N hydrogen bonds, which conform to an elongated molecular shape containing a double chain length. On the other hand, the structure of [Ag(Hpz(R(14)py))(2)][NO(3)] 6 also evidenced Ag-Ag bonded dimers from 'U'-shaped cationic entities. These dimers exhibit four chains, two by two alternated, so giving rise to a longer molecular length. Of particular interest was to observe that in both structures, the dimers are layer-like packed, their lamellar structures being related to that of the mesophases found in both kinds of compounds. Furthermore, the analysis of the optical data of the compounds 2 and 4 and the silver compounds 5, 6, 9 and 10 as representative examples pointed out their luminescent behaviour as well as their good ability to act as fluorescent probes for Zn(2+), Cu(2+) and Ag(+). An increase in the fluorescence quantum yields is observed in the final complexes produced in the titrations, this fact being specially notable when 9 was used as the starting compound.

Synthesis, spectroscopy, thermal analysis, magnetic properties and biological activity studies of Cu(II) and Co(II) complexes with Schiff base dye ligands

Three azo group-containing Schiff base ligands, namely 1-{3-[(3-hydroxy-propylimino)methyl]-4-hydroxyphenylazo}-4-nitrobenzene (2a), 1-{3-[(3-hydroxypropyl-imino)methyl]-4-hydroxyphenylazo}-2-chloro-4-nitrobenzene (2b) and 1-{3-[(3-hydroxy-propylimino)methyl]-4-hydroxyphenylazo}-4-chloro-3-nitrobenzene (2c) were prepared. The ligands were characterized by elemental analysis, FTIR spectroscopy, UV-Vis spectroscopy, ¹³C- and ¹H-NMR spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. Next the corresponding copper(II) and cobalt(II) metal complexes were synthesized and characterized by the physicochemical and spectroscopic methods of elemental analysis, FTIR spectroscopy, UV-Vis spectroscopy, magnetic moment measurements, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and (DSC). The room temperature effective magnetic moments of complexes are 1.45, 1.56, 1.62, 2.16, 2.26 and 2.80 B.M. for complexes 3a, 3b, 3c, 4a4b, and 4c, respectively, indicating that the complexes are paramagnetic with considerable electronic communication between the two metal centers.

Synthesis, characterization, and polarized luminescence properties of platinum(II) complexes having a rod-like ligand

We have synthesized a series of platinum (Pt) complexes having a rod-like ligand: 'Pt(F(2)PPy)acac', 'Pt(12F(2)PPy)acac', and 'Pt(12F(2)PPyO4)acac'. The crystal form of Pt(12F(2)PPy)acac was successfully determined to be triclinic by single-crystal X-ray structural analysis. The molecules were parallelly aligned in the unit cell. Monomer and excimer emissions of Pt(12F(2)PPy)acac were observed in hexane solution, poly(methyl methacrylate) film, and various nematic LCs. Homogeneous LC cells with the Pt complex/LC mixtures exhibited polarized optical emission resulting from monomer and excimer states. The PL intensity perpendicular to the orientation direction was higher than the parallel one in the whole wavelength region of the Pt complex and the polarization ratio of the excimer was higher than that of the monomer. The polarization ratios of the excimers were estimated to be 1.4-2.5 in nematic LC at room temperature, and decreased gradually with increasing temperature. The polarization ratios of Pt(12F(2)PPyO4)acac were higher than those of Pt(F(2)PPy)acac and Pt(12F(2)PPy)acac in all the LCs.