Luminescent bis‐alkynylgold(III) complexes with bidentate cyclometalating ligands: A comparison study with related tridentate cyclometalated complexes

Abstract

<p> Background: There has been a continuous interest in the development of luminescent gold(III) complexes as emitters for OLED applications in recent years. Objective: To design and synthesize a series of luminescent bis-alkynylgold(III) complexes with bidentate C^N-type ligands and to compare their properties with related tridentate cyclometalated complexes. Methods: A series of bis-alkynylgold(III) complexes with bidentate C^N-type ligands derived from 2-phenylpyridine and 7,8-benzoquinoline has been designed and synthesized. The photophysical properties of the complexes have been studied by electronic absorption and emission spectroscopies. Results: All of the complexes were observed to exhibit rich photophysical and electrochemical properties. In particular, the complexes were strongly emissive at ambient conditions, showing vibronic-structured emission bands peaked at 433–557 nm in dichloromethane solutions at 298 K. Conclusions: By comparing the structural features, luminescence properties and electrochemistry of the bidentate complexes with related tridentate C^N^C and C^N^N-type alkynylgold(III) complexes, a better understanding on the structure-property relationship of the alkynylgold(III) system has been obtained. <br></p>