Computational studies on the photophysical properties and NMR fluxionality of dinuclear platinum(II) A-frame alkynyl diphosphine complexes

The structural geometry, electronic structure, photophysical properties, and the fluxional behavior of a series of A-frame diplatinum alkynyl complexes, [Pt(2)(μ-dppm)(2)(μ-C≡CR)(C≡CR)(2)](+) [R = (t)Bu (1), C(6)H(5) (2), C(6)H(4)Ph-p (3), C(6)H(4)Et-p (4), C(6)H(4)OMe-p (5); dppm = bis(diphenylphosphino)methane], have been studied by density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent TD-DFT associated with conductor-like polarizable continuum model (CPCM) calculations. The results show that the Pt···Pt distance strongly depends on the binding mode of the alkynyl ligands. A significantly shorter Pt···Pt distance is found in the symmetrical form, in which the bridging alkynyl ligand is σ-bound to the two metal centers, than in the unsymmetrical form where the alkynyl ligand is σ-bound to one metal and π-bound to another. For the two structural forms in 1-5, both the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy levels show a dependence on the nature of the substituents attached to the alkynyl ligand. The energies of the HOMO and LUMO are found to increase and decrease, respectively, from R = (t)Bu to R = Ph and to R = C(6)H(4)Ph-p, because of the increase of the π- conjugation of the alkynyl ligand. On the basis of the TDDFT/CPCM calculations, the low-energy absorption band consists of two types of transitions, which are ligand-to-ligand charge-transfer (LLCT) [π(alkynyl) → σ*(dppm)]/metal-centered MC [dσ*(Pt(2)) → pσ(Pt(2))] transitions as well as interligand π → π* transition from the terminal alkynyl ligands to the bridging alkynyl ligand mixed with metal-metal-to-ligand charge transfer MMLCT [dσ*(Pt(2)) → π*(bridging alkynyl)] transition. The latter transition is lower in energy than the former. The calculation also indicates that the emission for the complexes originates from the triplet interligand π(terminal alkynyls) → π*(bridging alkynyl)/MMLCT [dσ*(Pt(2)) → π*(bridging alkynyl)] excited state. In terms of the fluxional behavior, calculations have been performed to study the details of the mechanisms for the three fluxional processes, which are the σ,π-alkynyl exchange, the ring-flipping, and the bridging-to-terminal alkynyl exchange processes.