The reactions between the diphosphino-alkynyl gold complexes (XC6H4C2Au)PR2-C6H4-PR2(AuC2C6H4X) with Cu+ lead to the formation of a family of heterometallic clusters of the general formula [{Au3Cu2(C2C6H4X)6}Au3(PR2C6H4PR2)3][PF6]2 (X = NO2, H, OMe, NMe2; R = C6H5, NC4H4). These complexes adopt the same structural pattern and consist of a heterometallic alkynyl cluster [Au3Cu2(C2C6H4X)6]- "wrapped" by the cationic [Au3(PR2C6H4PR2)3]3+ "belt". The novel compounds were characterized by NMR spectroscopy and ESI-MS measurements. A systematic study of their luminescence properties revealed efficient room-temperature phosphorescence in solution with remarkably weak quenching by molecular oxygen. The photophysical experiments demonstrate that the increase in the electron donor ability of the alkynyl ligands and the electron-withdrawing character of the diphosphines results in the bathochromic shift of emission maxima (in the 576-686 nm range) and a decrease in the luminescence quantum yield. The electronic structure calculations showed that variations of X or R substituents have very little effect on the structural parameters but display a significant influence on the electronic properties of the clusters and characteristics of luminescence. The metal-centered triplet emission within the heterometallic alkynyl cluster is suggested to play a key role in the observed phosphorescence.

The reactions between diphosphino-alkynyl gold complexes (PhC2Au)PPh2(C6H4)(n)PPh2(AuC2Ph) (n = 1, 2, 3) with Cu(+) lead to formation of the heterometallic aggregates, the composition of which may be described by a general formula [{Au(x)Cu(y)(C2Ph)2x}Au3{PPh2(C6H4)(n)PPh2}3](3+(y-x)) (n = 1, 2, 3; x = (n + 1)(n + 2)/2; y = n(n + 1)). These compounds display very similar structural patterns and consist of the [Au(x)Cu(y)(C2Ph)2x](y-x) alkynyl clusters "wrapped" in the [Au3(diphosphine)3](3+) triangles. The complex for n = 1 was characterized crystallographically and spectrally, the larger ones (n = 2, 3) were investigated in detail by NMR spectroscopy. Their luminescence behavior has been studied, and a remarkably efficient emission with a maximum quantum yield of 0.92 (n = 1) has been detected. Photophysical experiments demonstrate that an increase of the size of the aggregates leads to a decrease in photostability and photoefficiency. Computational studies have been performed to provide additional insight into the structural and electronic properties of these supramolecular complexes. The theoretical results obtained are in good agreement with the experimental data, supporting the proposed structural motif. These studies also suggest that the observed efficient long-wavelength luminescence originates from metal-centered transitions within the heterometallic Au-Cu core.

The D‐π‐A type phosphonium salts in which electron acceptor (A=‐+PR3) and donor (D=‐NPh2) groups are linked by polarizable π‐conjugated spacers show intense fluorescence that is classically ascribed to excited‐state intramolecular charge transfer (ICT). Unexpectedly, salts with π=‐(C6H4)n‐ and ‐(C10H6C6H4)‐ exhibit an unusual dual emission (F1 and F2 bands) in weakly polar or nonpolar solvents. Time‐resolved fluorescence studies show a successive temporal evolution from the F1 to F2 emission, which can be rationalized by an ICT‐driven counterion migration. Upon optically induced ICT, the counterions move from ‐+PR3 to ‐NPh2 and back in the ground state, thus achieving an ion‐transfer cycle. Increasing the solvent polarity makes the solvent stabilization dominant, and virtually stops the ion migration. Providing that either D or A has ionic character (by static ion‐pair stabilization), the ICT‐induced counterion migration should not be uncommon in weakly polar to nonpolar media, thereby providing a facile avenue for mimicking a photoinduced molecular machine‐like motion.

We report a homoleptic Au-Cu alkynyl cluster that represents an unexplored class of luminescent materials with stimuli-responsive photophysical properties. The bimetallic complex formulated as [Au(2)Cu(2)(C(2)OHC(5)H(8))(4)](n) efficiently self-assembles from Au(SC(4)H(8))Cl, Cu(NCMe)(4)PF(6), and 1-ethynylcyclopentanol in the presence of NEt(3). This compound shows remarkably diverse polymorphism arising from the modulation of metallophilic interactions by organic solvents. Four crystalline forms, obtained from methanol (1a); ethanol, acetone, or choloroform (1b); toluene (1c); and diethyl ether or ethyl acetate (1d), demonstrate different photoluminescent characteristics. The solid-state quantum yields of phosphorescence (Φ) vary from 0.1% (1a) to 25% (1d), depending on the character of intermetallic bonding. The structures of 1b-d were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The ethanol (1b, Φ = 2%) and toluene (1c, Φ = 10%) solvates of [Au(2)Cu(2)(C(2)OHC(5)H(8))(4)](n) adopt octanuclear isomeric structures (n = 2), while 1d (Φ = 25%) is a solvent-free chain polymer built from two types of Au(4)Cu(4) units. Electronic structure calculations show that the dramatic enhancement of the emission intensity is correlated with the increasing role of metal-metal bonding. The latter makes the emission progressively more metal-centered in the order 1b < 1c < 1d. The metallophilic contacts in 1a-d show high sensitivity to the vapors of certain solvents, which effectively induce unusual solid-state isomerization and switching of the absorption and luminescence properties via non-covalent interactions. The reported polymorphic material is the first example of a gold(I) alkynyl compound demonstrating vapochromic behavior.

We have designed and synthesized a series of Au(I) complexes bearing either an alkynyl−(phenylene) n −diphosphine (A-0−A-3) or a (phenylene) n −diphosphine (B-1−B-5) bridge, among which the effective distance between Au(I) and the center of the emitting ππ* chromophore can be fine-tuned via the insertion of various numbers of phenylene spacers. We then demonstrated for the first time in a systematic manner the decrease of rate constant for S 1 → T 1 intersystem crossing (ISC) k isc as the increase of the effective distance. The results also unambiguously showed that the phosphorescence could be harvested via higher S 0 → S n (n > 1) electronic excitation, followed by fast S n → T m ISC and then the population at T 1 state, bypassing the relatively slow S 1 → T 1 ISC. The results unify a recent report on higher excited-state relaxation dynamics for the late transition metal complexes (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2012, 134, 7715−7724). The dual, far separated fluorescence and phosphorescence of the titled complexes make feasible the white light generation in a single molecule unit, as successfully demonstrated using complex B-3 as a dopant to fabricate organic light emitting diodes.