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The three-fold bridged dinuclear Cu(I) complex Cu 2 (μ-I) 2 (1 N- n-butyl-5-diphenyl-phosphino-1,2,4-triazole) 3 , Cu 2 I 2 (P^N) 3 , shows bright thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) as well as phosphorescence at ambient temperature with a total quantum yield of 85% at an emission decay time of 7 μs. The singlet (S 1 )-triplet (T 1 ) energy gap is as small as only 430 cm -1 (53 meV). Spin-orbit coupling induces a short-lived phosphorescence with a decay time of 52 μs ( T = 77 K) and a distinct zero-field splitting (ZFS) of T 1 into substates by ∼2.5 cm -1 (0.3 meV). Below T ≈ 10 K, effects of spin-lattice relaxation (SLR) are observed and agree with the size of ZFS. According to the combined phosphorescence and TADF, the overall emission decay time is reduced by ∼13% as compared to the TADF-only process. The compound may potentially be applied in solution-processed OLEDs, exploiting both the singlet and triplet harvesting mechanisms.

Molecules that exhibit thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) represent a very promising emitter class for application in electroluminescent devices since all electrically generated excitons can be transferred into light according to the singlet harvesting mechanism. Cu(I) compounds are an important class of TADF emitters. In this contribution, we want to give a deeper insight into the photophysical properties of this material class and demonstrate how the emission properties depend on molecular and host rigidity. Moreover, we show that with molecular optimization a significant improvement of selected emission properties can be achieved. From the discussed materials, we select one specific dinuclear complex, for which the two Cu(I) centers are four-fold bridged to fabricate an organic light emitting diode (OLED). This device shows the highest efficiency (of 23 % external quantum efficiency) reported so far for OLEDs based on Cu(I) emitters.

Three deep blue emitting Cu(I) compounds, [Cu(PPh3)tpym]PF6, [Cu(PPh3)tpym]BF4, and [Cu(PPh3)tpym]BPh4 (tpym = tris(2-pyridyl)methane, PPh3 = triphenylphosphine) featuring the tripodally coordinating tpym and the monodentate PPh3 ligands were studied with regard to their structural and photophysical properties. The compounds only differ in their respective counter ions which have a strong impact on the emission properties of the powder samples. For example, the emission quantum yield can be significantly increased for the neat material from less than 10% to more than 40% by exchanging BPh4(-) with PF6(-). These effects can be linked to different molecular packings which depend on the counter ion. In agreement with these results, it was found that the emission properties also strongly depend on the surrounding matrix environment which was elucidated by investigating photophysical properties of the compounds as powders, doped into a polymer matrix, and dissolved in a fluid solution, respectively. The observed differences in the emission behavior can be explained by different and pronounced distortions that occur in the excited state. These distortions are also displayed by density functional theory (DFT) calculations.

Two compounds 1,4-dimethyl-1,4-diazoniabicyclo[2.2.2]octane catena-tetra-μ-halo-dicuprate(I) with DABCOMe2 Cu2X4 (1: X = Br, 2: X = I) were synthesized by hydrothermal reaction of copper(I) halides with the corresponding 1,4-diazoniabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (DABCO) dihydrohalides in an acetonitrile/methanol mixture. Both compounds crystallize monoclinically, 1 with a = 9.169(4) Å, b = 10.916(6) Å, c = 15.349(6) Å, β = 93.93(2)°, V = 1533(1) Å(3), Z = 4, space group P2(1)/n (no. 14) and 2 with a = 15.826(9) Å, b = 9.476(5) Å, c = 22.90(2) Å, β = 90.56(5)°, V = 3434(5) Å(3), Z = 8, space group P2(1) (no. 4), respectively (lattice constants refined from powder diffraction data measured at 293 K). The cations in both compounds are formed by in situ N-methylation of DABCOH2(2+) cations by methanol in a S(N)2 reaction. Both compounds contain an anionic copper(I) halide chain structure consisting of trans edge-sharing CuX4 tetrahedra. The chains are strongly kinked at every 2(nd) junction thus forming a zigzag structure. The shortest halide-halide distances are observed between the halide ions of adjacent tetrahedra which are approaching each other due to the kinking. This structure type shows a specific luminescence behavior. Under optical excitation, the compounds exhibit yellow (1) and green (2) emission with photoluminescence quantum yields of Φ(PL) = 52 and 4%, respectively, at ambient temperature. According to DFT and TDDFT calculations, the emission is assigned to be a phosphorescence essentially involving a metal centered transition between the HOMO consisting mainly of copper 3d and halide p orbitals and the LUMO consisting mainly of copper 4s and 4p orbitals. The temperature dependence of the emission spectra, decay times, and quantum yields has been investigated in detail, especially for 1. From the resulting trends it can be concluded that the emission for T≤ 100 K stems from energetically lower lying copper halide segments. Such segments represent the structural motif of the halocuprate(I) chains. With increasing temperature energetically higher lying segments are populated which also emit, but open the pathway for thermally activated energy transfer to quenching defects.

Flavin derivatives with an extended π-conjugation were synthesized in moderate to good yields from aryl bromides via a Buchwald-Hartwig palladium catalyzed amination protocol, followed by condensation of the corresponding aromatic amines with violuric acid. The electronic properties of the new compounds were investigated by absorption and emission spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, density functional theory (DFT) and time dependent density functional theory (TDDFT). The compounds absorb up to 550 nm and show strong luminescence. The photoluminescence quantum yields ϕPL measured in dichloromethane reach 80% and in PMMA (poly(methyl methacrylate)) 77%, respectively, at ambient temperature. The electrochemical redox behaviour of π-extended flavins follows the mechanism previously described for the parent flavin.

A new class of emissive and neutral Cu(I) compounds with tripodal ligands is presented. The complexes were characterized chemically, computationally, and photophysically. Under ambient conditions, the powders of the compounds exhibit yellow to red emission with quantum yields ranging from about 5% to 35%. The emission represents a thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) combined with a short-lived phosphorescence which represents a rare situation and is a consequence of high spin-orbit coupling (SOC). In the series of the investigated compounds the non-radiative rates increase with decreasing emission energy according to the energy gap law while the radiative rate is almost constant. Furthermore, a well-fit linear dependence between the experimental emission energies and the transition energies calculated by DFT and TD-DFT methods could be established, thus supporting the applicability of these computational methods also to Cu(I) complexes.

A novel approach is presented for the encapsulation of organic functional molecules between two sheets of 1 nm thin silicate layers, which like glass are transparent and chemically stable. An ordered heterostructure with organic interlayers strictly alternating with osmotically swelling sodium interlayers can be spontaneously delaminated into double stacks with the organic interlayers sandwiched between two silicate layers. The double stacks show high aspect ratios of >1000 (typical lateral extension 5000 nm, thickness 4.5 nm). This newly developed technique can be used to mask hydrophobic functional molecules and render them completely dispersible in water. The combination of the structural anisotropy of the silicate layers and a preferred orientation of molecules confined in the interlayer space allows polymer nanocomposite films to be cast with a well-defined orientation of the encapsulated molecules, thus rendering the optical properties of the nanocoatings anisotropic., (© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

A nano confinement strategy is presented to control the spatial orientation and emission polarization of phosphorescent metal complexes. Through nano-confinement of the phosphorescent metal complex [Ru(bpy)3 ](2+) by attaching it to anionic clay nanoplatelets, it is possible to simultaneously lock the spatial orientation of the complex and fix its emission polarization. This quasi-epitaxial approach may provide a future work strategy directed at light emitting diodes and lasers., (© 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Photophysical properties of two highly emissive three-coordinate Cu(I) complexes, (IPr)Cu(py2-BMe2) (1) and (Bzl-3,5Me)Cu(py2-BMe2) (2), with two different N-heterocyclic (NHC) ligands were investigated in detail (IPr = 1,3-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imidazol-2-ylidene; Bzl-3,5Me = 1,3-bis(3,5-dimethylphenyl)-1H-benzo[d]imidazol-2-ylidene; py2-BMe2 = di(2-pyridyl)dimethylborate). The compounds exhibit remarkably high emission quantum yields of more than 70% in the powder phase. Despite similar chemical structures of both complexes, only compound 1 exhibits thermally activated delayed blue fluorescence (TADF), whereas compound 2 shows a pure, yellow phosphorescence. This behavior is related to the torsion angles between the two ligands. Changing this angle has a huge impact on the energy splitting between the first excited singlet state S1 and triplet state T1 and therefore on the TADF properties. In addition, it was found that, in both compounds, spin-orbit coupling (SOC) is particularly effective compared to other Cu(I) complexes. This is reflected in short emission decay times of the triplet states of only 34 μs (1) and 21 μs (2), respectively, as well as in the zero-field splittings of the triplet states amounting to 4 cm(-1) (0.5 meV) for 1 and 5 cm(-1) (0.6 meV) for 2. Accordingly, at ambient temperature, compound 1 exhibits two radiative decay paths which are thermally equilibrated: one via the S1 state as TADF path (62%) and one via the T1 state as phosphorescence path (38%). Thus, if this material is applied in an organic light-emitting diode, the generated excitons are harvested mainly in the singlet state, but to a significant portion also in the triplet state. This novel mechanism based on two separate radiative decay paths reduces the overall emission decay time distinctly.

The complexes [Cu(I)(POP)(dmbpy)][BF4] (1) and [Cu(I)(POP)(tmbpy)][BF4] (2) (dmbpy = 4,4'-dimethyl-2,2'-bipyridyl; tmbpy = 4,4',6,6'-tetramethyl-2,2'-bipyridyl; POP = bis[2-(diphenylphosphino)-phenyl]ether) have been studied in a wide temperature range by steady-state and time-resolved emission spectroscopy in fluid solution, frozen solution, and as solid powders. Emission quantum yields of up to 74% were observed for 2 in a rigid matrix (powder), substantially higher than for 1 of around 9% under the same conditions. Importantly, it was found that the emission of 2 at ambient temperature represents a thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) which renders the compound to be a good candidate for singlet harvesting in OLEDs. The role of steric constraints within the complexes, in particular their influences on the emission quantum yields, were investigated by hybrid-DFT calculations for the excited triplet state of 1 and 2 while manipulating the torsion angle between the bipyridyl and POP ligands. Both complexes showed similar flexibility within a ±10° range of the torsion angle; however, 2 appeared limited to this range, whereas 1 could be further twisted with little energy demand. It is concluded that a restricted flexibility leads to a reduction of nonradiative deactivation and thus an increase of emission quantum yield.

With the chelating aminophosphane ligands Ph2P-(o-C6H4)-N(CH3)2 (PNMe2) and Ph2P-(o-C6H4)-NC4H8 (PNpy), the four halide (Cl, Br, I)-bridged copper coordination compounds [Cu(μ-Cl)(PNMe2)]2 (1), [Cu(μ-Br)(PNMe2)]2 (2), [Cu(μ-I)(PNMe2)]2 (3), and [Cu(μ-I)(PNpy)]2 (4) were synthesized and structurally characterized. Their photophysical properties were studied in detail. The complexes exhibit strong blue (λmax = 464 (3) and 465 nm (4)) and green (λmax = 506 (1) and 490 nm (2)) luminescence as powders with quantum yields of up to 65% at decay times as short as 4.1 μs. An investigation of the emission decay behavior between 1.3 and 300 K gives insight into the nature of the emitting states. At temperatures below T ≈ 60 K, the decay times of the studied compounds are several hundred microseconds long, which indicates that the emission originates from a triplet state (T1 state). DFT calculations show that this state is of (metal+halide)-to-ligand charge transfer (3)(M+X)LCT character. Investigations at 1.3 K allow us to gain insight into the three triplet substates, in particular, to determine the individual substate decay times being as long as a few milliseconds. The zero-field splittings are smaller than 1 or 2 cm(-1). With an analysis of these data, conclusions about the effectiveness of spin-orbit coupling (SOC) can be drawn. Interestingly, the large differences of SOC constants of the halides are not obviously displayed in the triplet state properties. With a temperature increase from T ≈ 60 to 300 K, a significant decrease of the emission decay time by almost 2 orders of magnitude is observed, and at ambient temperature, the decay times amount only to ∼4-7 μs without a significant reduction of the emission quantum yields. This drastic decrease of the (radiative) decay time is a result of the thermal population of a short-lived singlet state (S1 state) that lies energetically only a few hundred wavenumbers (460-630 cm(-1)) higher than the T1 state. Such an emission mechanism corresponds to a thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF). At ambient temperature, almost only a delayed fluorescence (∼98%) is observed. Compounds showing this mechanism are highly attractive for applications in OLEDs or LEECs as, in principle, it is possible to harvest all singlet and triplet excitons for the generation of light in the lowest excited singlet state. This effect represents the singlet harvesting mechanism.

A detailed examination was performed on photophysical properties of phosphorescent cyclometalated (C(^)N)Pt(O(^)O) complexes (ppy)Pt(dpm) (1), (ppy)Pt(acac) (1'), and (bzq)Pt(dpm) (2) and newly synthesized (dbq)Pt(dpm) (3) (C(^)N = 2-phenylpyridine (ppy), benzo[h]quinoline (bzq), dibenzo[f,h]quinoline (dbq); O(^)O = dipivolylmethanoate (dpm), acetylacetonate (acac)). Compounds 1, 1', 2, and 3 were further characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction. Structural changes brought about by cyclometalation were determined by comparison with X-ray data from model C(^)N ligand precursors. The compounds emit from metal-perturbed, ligand-centered triplet states (E(0-0) = 479 nm, 1; E(0-0) = 495 nm, 2; E(0-0) = 470 nm, 3) with disparate radiative rate constants (kr = 1.4 × 10(5) s(-1), 1; kr = 0.10 × 10(5) s(-1), 2; kr = 2.6 × 10(5) s(-1), 3). Zero-field splittings of the triplet states (ΔE(III-I) = 11.5 cm(-1), 1'; ΔE(III-I) < 2 cm(-1), 2; ΔE(III-I) = 46.5 cm(-1), 3) were determined using high resolution spectra recorded in Shpol'skii matrices. The fact that the E0-0 energies do not correspond to the extent of π-conjugation in the aromatic C(^)N ligand is rationalized on the basis of structural distortions that occur upon cyclometalation using data from single crystal X-ray analyses of the complexes and ligand precursors along with the triplet state properties evaluated using theoretical calculations. The wide variation in the radiative rate constants and zero-field splittings is also explained on the basis of how changes in the electronic spin density in the C(^)N ligands in the triplet state alter the spin-orbit coupling in the complexes.