Dinuclear metal complexes: multifunctional properties and applications

Dinuclear metal complexes have enabled breakthroughs in OLEDs, photocatalytic water splitting and CO₂reduction, DSPEC, chemosensors, biosensors, PDT and smart materials.

Sky-blue emitting bridged diiridium complexes: beneficial effects of intramolecular π-π stacking

The potential of intramolecular π-π interactions to influence the photophysical properties of diiridium complexes is an unexplored topic, and provides the motivation for the present study. A series of diarylhydrazide-bridged diiridium complexes functionalised with phenylpyridine (ppy)-based cyclometalating ligands is reported. It is shown by NMR studies in solution and single crystal X-ray analysis that intramolecular π-π interactions between the bridging and cyclometalating ligands rigidify the complexes leading to high luminescence quantum efficiencies in solution and in doped films. Fluorine substituents on the phenyl rings of the bridge promote the intramolecular π-π interactions. Notably, these non-covalent interactions are harnessed in the rational design and synthesis of the first examples of highly emissive sky-blue diiridium complexes featuring conjugated bridging ligands, for which they play a vital role in the structural and photophysical properties. Experimental results are supported by computational studies.

Highly luminescent 2-phenylpyridine-free diiridium complexes with bulky 1,2-diarylimidazole cyclometalating ligands

While a number of highly emissive dinuclear Ir(iii) complexes have been reported, they have generally been restricted to structures based on 2-phenylpyridine (Hppy) cyclometalates.

Theoretical Studies on Phosphorescent Materials: The Conjugation-Extended PtII Complexes

A theoretical study on the PtII complex A based on a dimesitylboron (BMes2)-functionalized [Pt(C^N)(acac)] (C^N = 2-phenyl-pyridyl, acac = acetylaceton) complex, as well as three conjugation-extended analogues of the methylimidazole (C*) ligand BMes2-[Pt(C^C*)(acac)] complexes B–D is performed. Their theoretical geometries, electronic structures, emission properties, and the radiative decay rate constants (kr) were also investigated. The energy differences between the two highest occupied orbitals with dominant Pt d-orbital components (Δddocc) of D both at the ground and excited states are the smallest of all. Compared with B, the charge transfer in D possesses a marked trend towards the extended conjugated group, while C changed inconspicuously. The lowest-lying absorptions and the phosphorescence of them can be described as a mixed metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT)/intra-ligand π→π* charge transfer (ILCT) and 3MLCT/3ILCT, respectively. The variation of charge transfer properties induced by extended conjugation and the radiative decay rate constants (kr) calculated revealed that D is a more efficient blue phosphorescence material with a 497 nm emission transition.