Reversible temperature-responsible emission in solutions within 293–333 K produced by dissociative behavior of multinuclear Cu(I) complexes with aminomethylphosphines

A series of multinuclear Cu(I) complexes (CuI)xLy, namely the previously reported (CuI)6L2 and (CuI)2L′ and novel (CuI)2L2, where L and L′ are 1,5-di(R)-3,7-bis(2-pyridine-2′-yl)ethyl-1,5-diaza-3,7-diphosphacyclooctanes are introduced. Both dissociative and oxidative behavior of the complexes in DMSO and DMF solutions are correlated with the time-dependent changes in their phosphorescence originated from 3(X + M)LCT transitions. The instability of butterfly-like (CuI)2L′ resulting in its oxidative degradation in DMSO and transformation into (CuI)L′2 in DMF solutions differentiates it from more stable linear complexes (CuI)6L2 and (CuI)2L2. The complexes (CuI)2L2 and (CuI)L2 produced by the dissociation of (CuI)6L2.in DMSO and DMF solutions are regarded as structural motifs responsible for both reversible blue-shifting by 10 nm of the emission band and the decrease in the excited states lifetime values upon the heating of the solutions within 293–333 K. This temperature-induced behavior along with the phosphorescence character of the emission of both complexes points to thermally activated delayed fluorescence as the reason for the reversible temperature-induced spectral changes of hexanuclear (CuI)6L2. Smaller nuclearity of (CuI)2L2 is the reason for partial reversibility of the spectral changes.