We report an efficient
pathway toward sensitization of red room temperature EuIII emission by the charge-transfer (CT) states related to d8–d10 heterometallophilic interactions achieved
by the simultaneous application of tetracyanidometallates of PtII/PdII and dicyanidometallates of AuI/AgI in the construction of a trimetallic d–d–f
assembly. The combination of Eu3+, [MII(CN)4]2– (M = Pt, Pd), and [MI(CN)2]− (M = Au, Ag) ions along with 4,4′-bipyridine N,N′-dioxide (4,4′-bpdo)
results in four novel isostructural 2D {[EuIII(4,4′-bpdo)(H2O)2][MII(CN)4]}·[MI(CN)2]·H2O (MII/MI = Pt/Au, 1; Pt/Ag, 2; Pd/Au, 3; Pd/Ag, 4) coordination networks. They are
built of hybrid coordination layers, based on cyanido-bridged {EuIII[MII(CN)4]}
n
square grids coexisting with metal–organic {EuIII(4,4′-bpdo)}
n
chains,
with the further attachment of [MI(CN)2]− ions through metallophilic {MII–MI} interactions. This results in dinuclear {MIIMI} units generating an orange emissive metal-to-metal-to-ligand
charge-transfer (MMLCT) state, whose energy is tuned by the applied
d8–d10 metal centers. Thanks to these
CT states, 1–4 exhibit room temperature
red EuIII photoluminescence enhanced by energy transfer
from {MIIMI} units, with the additional role
of 4,4′-bpdo also transferring the energy to lanthanides. These
donor CT states lying in the visible range successfully broaden the
available efficient excitation range up to 500 nm. The overall emission
quantum yield ranges from 8(1)% for 4 to 15(2)% for 1, with the intermediate values for 2 and 3 relatively high among the reported EuIII-based
compounds with tetracyanido- and dicyanidometallates. We found that
the sensitization efficiency is equally high for all compounds because
of the similar energies of the CT states, while the main differences
are related to the observed emission lifetimes ranging from ca. 80
μs for 4 to 120–130 μs for 2 and 3 to ca. 180 μs for 1. This
phenomenon was correlated with the energies of the vibrational states,
e.g., cyanide stretching vibrations, responsible for nonradiative
deactivation of EuIII excited states, which are the highest
for the Pd/Ag pair of 4 and the lowest for the Pt/Au
pair in 1. Thus, the heaviest pair of PtII/AuI cyanide metal complexes is proven to be the best
candidate for the sensitization of room temperature EuIII luminescence.