No abstract

A highly efficient domino reaction starting from tetrahydroquinolinone and a series of bisiminium salts provides the corresponding bis(U-terpyridines). These ligands have been treated with [(tpy)RuCl3] to afford novel dinuclear complexes [(tpy)Ru(L)Ru(tpy)]4+. The protocol is also applied for the synthesis of a star-shaped tris(U-terpyridine) and the trinuclear complex [{(tpy)Ru}3(L)]6+. In view of potential applications in the fields of metallopolymers and molecular devices, the electronic spectra, as well as the electrochemical potentials of all the complexes have been obtained. According to these data, no significant intermetal interaction has been observed for the ruthenium complexes presented here.

The synthesis, photophysical properties and application as emitters in solution-processed multi-layer organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) of a series of blue-green to red light-emitting phosphorescent platinum(II) complexes are reported. These complexes consist of phenylisoquinoline, substituted phenylpyridines or tetrahydroquinolines as C^N cyclometalating ligands and dipivaloylmethane as an ancillary ligand. Depending on both the structure of the C^N cyclometalating ligands and the dopant concentration in the matrix, these platinum(II) complexes exhibit different aggregation tendencies. This property affects the photoluminescence spectra of the investigated compounds and colour-stability of the fabricated OLEDs. Using the blue-green to yellow-green emitting complexes, the best results were obtained with the 2-(4-trifluoromethylphenyl)-5,6,7,8-tetrahydroquinoline based platinum(II) complex. A maximum luminous efficiency of 4.88 cd A(-1) and a power efficiency of 4.65 lm W(-1), respectively, were achieved. Employing the red emitting phenylisoquinoline based complex as an emitter, colour-stable and efficient (4.71 cd A(-1), 5.12 lm W(-1)) devices were obtained.

The modular approaches towards 2,2¢:6¢,2¢¢-terpyridines and U-/S-shaped terpyridines are combined to yield a new family of ditopic ligands. Functionalized Kröhnke-type terpyridines were used as key building blocks for the construction of hetero-bis(terpyridine)s. The described compounds might serve as new templates for the self-assembly towards new metallosupramolecular functional materials.