Photochromic metal complexes: photoregulation of both the nonlinear optical and luminescent properties

A series of dithienylethene (DTE)-containing 2,2'-bipyridine ligands and their zinc(II) diacetate, zinc(II) dichloro, rhenium(I) tricarbonyl bromo, and ruthenium(II) bis(bipyridine) complexes have been designed and synthesized, and their photochromic, photophysical, and quadratic nonlinear optical properties have been studied. Upon UV irradiation at 350 nm, the ligands and complexes undergo ring closure of the DTE units, with a good to excellent photocyclization yield. In the case of the Re(I) and Ru(II) complexes, the photocyclization of the DTE units can also be triggered using visible light, upon excitation into the metal-to-ligand charge-transfer (MLCT) bands at 400 and 490 nm, respectively. Molecular quadratic nonlinear optical (NLO) responses of the complexes have been determined by using either the electrical field induced second harmonic generation (EFISH) or harmonic light scattering (HLS) technique at 1910 nm. These studies reveal a large increase of the second-order NLO activity after UV irradiation and subsequent formation of the ring-closed isomers. This efficient enhancement clearly reflects the delocalization of the π-electron system and the formation of strong push-pull chromophores in the closed forms. The combination of the photochromic DTE-based bipyridine ligand with luminescent Re(I) and Ru(II) fragments also allows the photoregulation of the emission, leading to an efficient quenching of the ligand-based 77 K luminescence and demonstrating that the photocontrol of two optical properties, linear and nonlinear, could be achieved by using the same photochromic ligand.     

Syntheses,crystal structures,and properties of four transition metal complexes based on 5-nitro-8-hydroxyquinoline

Four new complexes, [M(C₉H₅N₂O₃)₂(H₂O)₂]·CH₃OH (M?=?Zn(II), Cd(II) and Mn(II)) (1–3) and [Cu(C₉H₅N₂O₃)₂] (4), have been synthesized by reactions of 5-nitro-quinoline-8-yl acetate (NQA) and corresponding metal salts at room temperature and characterized by elemental analysis, IR, thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), fluorescence measurement and single crystal X-ray diffraction. 1–3 are mononuclear, further extended to 2-D layers by hydrogen bonds. For 4, Cu²⁺ is coordinated by two N atoms and two O atoms from two NQ ligands. TGA indicates that 1–4 have good thermal stabilities. Furthermore, 1 and 2 show excellent luminescence in the solid state at room temperature.     

Synthesis and luminescent properties of polymeric metal complexes containing bis(8-hydroxyquinoline) group

A novel ligand: 4,4′-bis(8-hydroxyquinoline-5-propenyl)-biphenyl (B8QPB) (1), has been synthesized by Witting-Horner reaction, and the corresponding two polymeric metal complexes were also prepared by polynuclear of the ligand with aluminium (III) (2) and zinc (II) (3) halides, respectively. The structure of the ligand was characterized by ¹H NMR, FT-IR and elemental analysis techniques; polymeric metal complexes were characterized by FT-IR, UV-vis, elemental analysis techniques, conductivity measurements and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). The results indicate that the stoichiometry of polymeric metal complexes is [(C₃₄H₂₄O₂N₂)₁₁Al₁₂Cl₂₈] and [(C₃₄H₂₄O₂N₂)₃₂(ZnCl₂)₃₃]. B8QPB coordinated with metal ions to form polymers. The luminescence properties of the complexes 1-3 were investigated by UV-vis and fluorescence spectra at room temperature. The experimental results show that polymeric metal complexes 2 and 3 emit blue/green luminescence at 514 and 504 nm in the solid state and at 470 and 507 nm in DMSO solution. Thermal properties measurement and analysis show that they have good thermal stabilities.     

Synthesis, characterization, luminescence and nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of truxene-containing platinum(II) alkynyl complexes

A series of luminescent trinuclear platinum(II) alkynyl complexes containing dihydro-5H-diindeno[1,2-a;1′,2′-c]fluorene (truxene) as the core and aryl alkynyl ligands with different electronic properties at the periphery has been successfully synthesized and characterized. The electronic absorption, emission, nanosecond transient absorption and electrochemical properties of these complexes have been reported. These complexes showed long-lived emissions in degassed benzene solution at room temperature, and their emissions have been assigned to originate from triplet states of intraligand (IL) character with some mixing of metal-to-ligand charge-transfer (MLCT) character. The luminescent platinum(II) alkynyl complexes are found to show two-photon absorption (2PA) and two-photon induced luminescence (TPIL) properties, and their two-photon absorption cross-sections have been determined to be 6-51 GM upon excitation at 720 nm.     

Tetranuclear Zn(II) complexes with compartmental and dicyanamido ligands: synthesis,structure, and luminescent properties

New tetranuclear compounds have been obtained by reacting binuclear complexes, [Zn₂L ⁿ (μ-OH)(H₂O)₂](ClO₄)₂, with sodium dicyanamide (HL ⁿ are end-off bicompartmental ligands resulting from condensation between 2,6-diformyl-p-cresol with N,N-dimethyl-ethylenediamine or 2-aminomethyl-pyridine). The complexes, [{L¹(μ-OH)Zn₂}(μ _1,5-dca)₂{Zn₂(μ-OH)L¹}](ClO₄)₂ (1) and [{Zn₂L²(μ ₃-OH)(dca)}₂](ClO₄)₂?·?2H₂O (2), have been characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The angular nature of the bridging dicyanamido induces the “M” shape of the tetranuclear cationic unit in 1. The tetranuclear cation, because of its particular shape, acts as a receptor toward one perchlorate ion, which is hydrogen bonded to the hydroxo groups. This tetranuclear unit in 2 has a defective heterocubane structure. The luminescence properties of the new tetranuclear complexes have been investigated.     

Synthesis, linear, and quadratic-nonlinear optical properties of octupolar D3 and D2d bipyridyl metal complexes

A series of D3 (Fe(II), Ru(II), Zn(II), Hg(II)) and D2d (Cu(I), Ag(I), Zn(II)) octupolar metal complexes featuring different functionalized bipyridyl ligands has been synthesized, and their thermal, linear (absorption and emission), and nonlinear optical (NLO) properties were determined. Their quadratic NLO susceptibilities were determined by harmonic light scattering at 1.91 microm, and the molecular hyperpolarizability (beta0) values are in the range of 200-657 x 10(-30) esu for octahedral complexes and 70-157 x 10(-30) esu for tetrahedral complexes. The octahedral zinc(II) complex 1 e, which contains a 4,4'-oligophenylenevinylene-functionalized 2,2'-bipyridine, exhibits the highest quadratic hyperpolarizability ever reported for an octupolar derivative (lambdamax=482 nm, beta1.91(1 e)=870 x 10(-30) esu, beta0(1 e)=657 x 10(-30) esu). Herein, we demonstrate that the optical and nonlinear optical (NLO) properties are strongly influenced by the symmetry of the complexes, the nature of the ligands (donor endgroups and pi linkers), and the nature of the metallic centers. For example, the length of the pi-conjugated backbone, the Lewis acidity of the metal ion, and the increase of ligand-to-metal ratio result in a substantial enhancement of beta. The contribution of the metal-to-ligand (MLCT) transition to the molecular hyperpolarizability is also discussed with respect to octahedral d6 complexes (M=Fe, Ru).     

Tuning luminescent properties of a metal organic framework by insertion of metal complexes

Abstract

We report the preparation and characterisation of new emissive materials based on the insertion of platinum(II) and iridium(III) complexes inside the Al(OH)(bipyridine dicarboxylate) metal organic framework (MOF-253). Guest incorporation is performed by coordination of a metal complex precursor, and provides increased robustness to the system compared to guest inclusion by its physical diffusion. Powder X-ray diffraction analysis highlights the high degree of crystallinity of the materials, with a complete change in the lattice parameters upon metal complex insertion. The photophysical properties of the resulting materials were thoroughly investigated. This synthetic approach is particularly attractive since, as we show, it is possible to tune the emission maxima of our materials over the entire visible range.     

Theoretical studies upon the electronic structures and spectroscopic properties for a series of luminescent terpyridyl platinum(II) phenylacetylide complexes

A comprehensive calculations were carried out to get a deep insight into the ground- and excited-state electronic structures and the spectroscopic properties for a series of [Pt(4-X–trpy)CCC₆H₄R]⁺ complexes (trpy = 2,2′,6′,2″-terpyridine; X = H, R = NO₂ (1), Cl (2), C₆H₅ (3) and CH₃ (4); R = Cl, X = CH₃ (5) and C₆H₅ (6)). MP2 (second-order Møller–Plesset perturbation) and CIS (single-excitation configuration interaction) methods were employed to optimize the structures of 1–6 in the ground and excited states, respectively. The investigation showed that substituted phenylacetylide and trpy ligands only give rise to a small variation in geometrical structures but lead to a sizable difference in the electronic structures for 1–6 in the ground and excited states. The introduction of electron-rich groups into the phenylacetylide and/or terpyridyl ligands produces two different low-lying absorptions for 1 and 2–6, i.e., Pt(5d) → π^*(trpy) metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT) mixed with π → π^*(CCPh) intraligand charge transfer (ILCT) for 1 and Pt(5d)/π(CCPh) → π^*(trpy) charge transfer (MLCT and LLCT) for 2–6. Remarkable electronic resonance on the whole Pt–CCPh–NO₂ moiety for 1 may be responsible for the difference. Solvatochromism calculation revealed that only LLCT/MLCT transitions showed the solvent dependence, consistent with the experimental observations.     

Synthesis and electrochemical studies of organometallic cobalt(III) complexes with substituted benzonitrile chromophores: NMR spectroscopic data as a probe on the second-order non-linear optical properties

The family of organometallic Co(III) benzonitrile derivatives of general formula [CoCp(dppe)(p-NCR)][PF₆]₂ (R = C₆H₄NMe₂, C₆H₄NH₂, C₆H₄OMe, C₆H₄C₆H₅, C₆H₅, C₆H₄C₆H₄NO₂, and C₆H₄NO₂) have been synthesized. Spectroscopic and electrochemical data were analyzed in order to evaluate the extent of electronic coupling between the organometallic fragment and the nitrile ligands. An attempt of correlation between NMR spectroscopic data and the second-order non-linear optical properties is presented, based on this work and available published data for related η⁵-monocyclopentadienyliron, ruthenium and nickel complexes.     

Synthesis and luminescent properties of a silylated-terpyridine derivative and its metalated complexes in solutions and self-assembled monolayers

A silylated-terpyridine(Si TPy) derivative was newly synthesized and reacted with various transition metal ions in the solutions and self-assembled monolayers(SAMs).Composition and morphology of the SAMs were characterized by using absorption spectra,X-ray photoelectron spectra and atomic force microscope.The silylated-TPy compound gave off a luminescent emission at about 456 nm,which slightly shifted to 452 nm in the Zn2+-Si TPy and Fe2+-Si TPy metalated complexes.The absorbed energy can be further transferred to lanthanide ions(Tb3+and Eu3+) to give off the typical emissions of the lanthanide complexes together with an emission of the silylated-TPy at about 363 nm.     

Metalloantibiotics: synthesis and antibacterial activity of ceftazidime metal complexes

Ceftazidime (Hceftaz) interacts with transition metal(II) ions to give octahedral [M(ceftaz)(H₂O)Cl] complexes [M = Mn(II), Fe(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II) and Cd(II)] which were characterized by physicochemical and spectroscopic methods. The spectra indicated that the ligand is a multidentate chelating agent. The complexes are insoluble in water and common organic solvents and probably have polymeric structures. The antibacterial activity of the metal complexes was found to be lower than that of free ceftazidime.     

Nonlinear optical and two-photon absorption properties of octupolar tris(bipyridyl)metal complexes

The linear (absorption and emission) and nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of a series of D(3) [(Fe(II), Ru(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II)] octupolar metal complexes featuring the 4,4'-bis[(dibutylamino)styryl]-2,2'-bipyridine ligand are reported. Zinc(II), nickel(II), and copper(II) complexes exhibit similar absorption spectra in the visible region (lambda(ILCT) = 474-476 nm) which are assigned to intraligand charge-transfer (ILCT) bands. The quadratic and cubic NLO properties are strongly influenced by the nature of the metallic center. Harmonic light scattering studies at lambda = 1.91 microm reveal that these chromophores display large first hyperpolarizabilities beta(1.91) in the range of (211-340) x 10(-30) esu; replacing the Zn(II) metal ion by Ni(II) or Cu(II) results in a decrease of the static beta(0) coefficient by a factor of 1.5-1.6. Z-scan measurements at 765 and 965 nm reveal relatively large two-photon absorption cross-sections [650 < sigma(2) < 2200 GM], showing that both beta and sigma(2) values can be tuned by simple modification of the metal ion.     

Synthesis and characterization of metal complexes of N-alkyl-N-phenyl dithiocarbamates

Ammonium N-ethyl-N-phenyl dithiocarbamate (L¹) and N-butyl-N-phenyl dithiocarbamate (L²), and their group 12 metal complexes formulated as Zn₂L¹₄, CdL¹₂, HgL¹₂, Zn₂L²₄, CdL²₂, HgL²₂ have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analyses, IR, ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. The crystal structures of the zinc complexes (Zn₂L¹₄ and Zn₂L²₄) are also reported. Single crystal analyses of the two complexes revealed the presence of distorted trigonal bipyramidal and tetrahedral coordination geometry about the metal ions. The dithiocarbamate acts as bidentate chelating and bidentate bridging ligands between the metal ions giving centrosymmetric dimeric molecules. The apparent substitution of the ethyl substituents in L¹ by the butyl groups in L² results in profound change in structure.     

New bichromophoric-2,2′-bipyridines: synthesis and optical properties

The synthesis and characterization of new unsymmetrically substituted bipyridyl-based chromophores featuring π-conjugated donor, acceptor or photoisomerizable backbones are reported. Their absorption and emission properties are discussed in comparison to those of the parent ligands.     

Syntheses,structures, and optical properties of two cadmium complexes with chelidamic acid

[Cd₂(C₇H₃NO₅)₂ · 4(H₂O)] _n · 3nH₂O · 0.5n(CH₃OH) (1) and [Cd₃(C₇H₂NO₅)₂ · 10(H₂O)] · 2H₂O ·0.5CH₃OH (2) were synthesized and characterized by X-ray single-crystal diffraction. The crystal structure of 1 reveals that both Cds are seven-coordinate with pentagonal bipyramid geometries. Coordination polyhedra are interlinked into a 1-D chain, further linked by hydrogen bonds into a 3-D network. Complex 2 is a discrete structure, then independent [Cd₃(C₇H₂NO₅)₂ · 10(H₂O)] are linked by hydrogen bonds into a 3-D network. The optical properties of 1 and 2 were investigated with fluorescent spectra; both exhibit strong green luminescence probably originating from π–π* transition of the ligand.     

New heterometallic coordination polymers based on zinc(II) complexes with Schiff-base ligands and dicyanometallates: synthesis,crystal structures,and luminescent properties

Four new d¹⁰ heterometallic coordination polymers have been obtained using three Schiff-base ligands, zinc(II) nitrate, and dicyanometallates: ₁^∞[{Zn₃(Salen)₂}{μ-Au(CN)₂}₂] (1); ₁^∞[Zn(Saldmen){μ-Ag(CN)₂}]·2H₂O (2); ₁^∞[Zn(Salampy){μ-Ag(CN)₂}] (3); ₁^∞[Zn(Salampy){μ-Au(CN)₂}] (4). The Schiff bases are obtained from condensation of salicylaldehyde with ethylenediamine (H₂Salen); N,N-dimethyl-ethylenediamine (HSaldmen) and, respectively, 2-aminomethyl-pyridine (HSalampy). The dicyanometallates are K[Ag(CN)₂] and K[Au(CN)₂]. The compounds were characterized by X-ray single-crystal diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, UV–vis spectroscopy, and elemental analysis. In compound 1, the homotrimetallic units, {Zn₃(salen)₂}²⁺, are connected by two [Au(CN)₂]^? bridges, forming a 1-D double chain. In compounds 2–4, the crystal structures show polymeric zigzag chains generated by the mononuclear zinc(II) nodes and [M(CN)₂]^? spacers. The luminescence properties of the new heterometallic polymers have also been investigated.     

Polynuclear metal complexes of ligands containing phenolic units

The coordination properties of a selected series of acyclic and macrocyclic ligands containing one or more phenolic groups are explored. The formation of polynuclear metal complexes was only considered highlighting the key role played by the phenoxide oxygen atom in binding two metal centres in a bridge disposition. This arrangement allows two metal ions to stay close each other and consequently these dinuclear centres are able to mimic many biological sites, especially those where the two metals can cooperate to form an active centre. Catalytic properties of these polynuclear complexes, when studied, have been reported. Also some of the numerous heterodinuclear metal complexes that have been synthesized are here reviewed, included several crystal structures.     

Synthesis and antibacterial activity of cephradine metal complexes

Cephradine (Hcephra) interacts with transition metal ions to give [Fe(cephra)Cl₂] and [M(cephra)Cl] complexes (M?=?Mn(II), Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II) and Zn(II)) which were characterized by physicochemical and spectroscopic methods; a tetrahedral geometry is suggested for their structures where cephradine behaves as monoanionic tridentate ligand. The complexes have been screened for antibacterial activity against several bacteria, and the results showed that all metal complexes tested had lower antibiotic activity than the free ligand.