A series of highly luminescent dinuclear copper(I) complexes has been synthesized in good yields using a modular ligand system of easily accessible diphenylphosphinopyridine-type P^N ligands. Characterization of these complexes via X-ray crystallographic studies and elemental analysis revealed a dinuclear complex structure with a butterfly-shaped metal-halide core. The complexes feature emission covering the visible spectrum from blue to red together with high quantum yields up to 96%. Density functional theory calculations show that the HOMO consists mainly of orbitals of both the metal core and the bridging halides, while the LUMO resides dominantly on the heterocyclic part of the P^N ligands. Therefore, modification of the heterocyclic moiety of the bridging ligand allows for systematic tuning of the luminescence wavelength. By increasing the aromatic system of the N-heterocycle or through functionalization of the pyridyl moiety, complexes with emission maxima from 481 to 713 nm are obtained. For a representative compound, it is shown that the ambient-temperature emission can be assigned as a thermally activated delayed fluorescence, featuring an attractively short emission decay time of only 6.5 μs at ϕPL = 0.8. It is proposed to apply these compounds for singlet harvesting in OLEDs.

Recently, a new approach to dihydrogen activation known as frustrated Lewis pairs (FLPs) concept has been introduced 1, 2, 3 . A combination of highly Lewis acidic boranes and sterically hindered bases can split hydrogen heterolytically generating onium (phosphonium, ammonium, etc.) borohydrides. These compounds show reduction activity resembling that of inorganic borohydrides like NaBH 4 , i. e. they are suitable mostly for reduction of polarized multiple bonds. Imines, enamines, silyl ethers 4, 5,6 , α,β-enones 7 , ynones 8 , Nalkylanilines 9 were hydrogenated using stoichiometric or catalytic amounts of FLPs. Due to heterolytic nature of FLP-H 2 adducts, hydrogenation of unactivated multiple C-C bonds using FLPs has some natural limitations, since during the respective step of the catalytic cycle a proton transfer from catalyst to substrate should take place (Fig. 1a). Although Greb et al. have implemented this approach to hydrogenation of alkenes under ambient conditions, this method is predictably restricted to the alkenes with high proton affinity 10 .

The first ansa-aminoborane N-TMPN-CH2C6H4B(C6F5)2 (where TMPNH is 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidinyl) which is able to reversibly activate H2 through an intramolecular mechanism is synthesized. This new substance makes use of the concept of molecular tweezers where the active N and B centers are located close to each other so that one H2 molecule can fit in this void and be activated. Because of the fixed geometry of this ansa-ammonium-borate it forms a short N-H...H-B dihydrogen bond of 1.78 A as determined by X-ray analysis. Therefore, the bound hydrogen can be released above 100 degrees C. In addition, the short H...H contact and the N-H...H (154 degrees) and B-H...H (125 degrees) angles show that the dihydrogen interaction in N-TMPNH-CH2C6H4BH(C6F5)2 is partially covalent in nature. As a basis for discussing the mechanism, quantum chemical calculations are performed and it is found that the energy needed for splitting H2 can arise from the Coulomb attraction between the resulting ionic fragments, or "Coulomb pays for Heitler-London". The air- and moisture-stable N-TMPNH-CH2C6H4BH(C6F5)2 is employed in the catalytic reduction of nonsterically demanding imines and enamines under mild conditions (110 degrees C and 2 atm of H2) to give the corresponding amines in high yields.

A series of highly luminescent, heteroleptic copper(I) complexes has been synthesized using a modular approach based on easily accessible P^N ligands, triphenylphosphine, and copper(I) halides, allowing for an independent tuning of the emission wavelength with low synthetic efforts. The molecular structure has been investigated via X-ray analysis, confirming a dinuclear copper(I) complex consisting of a butterfly shaped metal-halide cluster and two different sets of ligands. The bidentate P^N ligand bridges the two metal centers and can be used to tune the energy of the frontier orbitals and therefore the photophysical characteristics, as confirmed by emission spectroscopy and theoretical investigations, whereas the two monodentate triphenylphosphine ligands on the periphery of the cluster core mainly influence the solubility of the complex. By using electron-rich or electron-poor heterocycles as part of the bridging ligand, emission colors can be adjusted, respectively, between yellow (581 nm) and deep blue (451 nm). These complexes have been further investigated in particular with regard to their photophysical properties in thin films and polymer matrix as well as in solution. Furthermore, the suitability of this class of materials for being applied in organic lightemitting diodes (OLEDs) has been demonstrated in a solution-processed device with a maximum current efficiency of 9 cd/A and a low turn-on voltage of 4.1 V using a representative complex as an emitting compound.