Alcohol soluble Cu(I) complexes with aggregation-induced phosphorescent emission in ethanol/water solvents

A series of ionic and neutral alcohol soluble Cu(I) complexes were obtained by reaction of 2-(pentafluorophenyl)-1H-imidazo[4,5-f][1,10]-phenanthroline (ppipH), [Cu(MeCN)4]ClO4 and the chelating diphosphine ligands bis[(2-diphenylphosphino)phenyl]ether (POP), 4,6-bis(diphenylphosphino)phenoxazine (nixantphos), 9,9-dimethyl-4,5-bis(diphenylphosphino)-9H-xanthene (xantphos) and (±)-2,2′-bis(diphenylphosphino)-1,1′-binaphthalene (BINAP) in neutral and strong alkaline media, respectively. Most complexes display moderate to intense luminescence in the solid state and weak, negligible luminescence in EtOH solutions. The aggregation-induced emission for the Cu(I) complexes of flexible POP ligands in ethanol/water system was studied.