Luminescent Triphosphine Cyanide d(10) Metal Complexes.

Coinage metal cyanides efficiently react with a triphosphine. PPh2C6H4-PPh-C6H4PPh2 (P(3)). to give the complexes M(P(3))CN, where M = Cu (1), Ag (2), and Au (3), which can further interact with coordinatively unsaturated metal centers [M(P(3))](+) to give the homobimetallic [(P(3))M-CN-M(P(3))](+)X(-) [M = Cu (4a with X(-) = CF3SO3(-) and 4b with X(-) = BF4(-)), Ag (5)] or heterometallic [(P(3))Au-CN-Ag(P(3))](+) (6) species. Extension of this approach also provided the trinuclear complex [(P(3))Cu-NC-Au-CN-Cu(P(3))](+) (7). Compounds 1-5 were characterized in the solid state by X-ray crystallography. The NMR spectroscopic studies revealed that all of the complexes except 6 retain their structures in solution. The title compounds are luminescent in the solid state, with quantum yields ranging from 8 to 87%. The observed photoemission originates mainly from the metal-to-ligand charge-transfer states according to time-dependent density functional theory computational studies. The crystalline bimetallic Cu complexes 4a/4b demonstrate extremely high sensitivity of the emission intensity to molecular O2 (KSV1 = 639 atm(-1) and LOD = 0.010% for 3 times the signal-to-noise ratio).

Coinage metal complexes supported by the tri- and tetraphosphine ligands.

A series of tri- and tetranuclear phosphine complexes of d(10) metal ions supported by the polydentate ligands, bis(diphenylphosphinomethyl)phenylphosphine (PPP) and tris(diphenylphosphinomethyl)phosphine (PPPP), were synthesized. All the compounds under study, [AuM2(PPP)2](3+) (M = Au (1), Cu (2), Ag (3)), [M4(PPPP)2](4+) (M = Ag (4), Au (5)), [AuAg3(PPPP)2](4+) (6), and [Au2Cu2(PPPP)2(NCMe)4](4+) (7), were characterized crystallographically. The trinuclear clusters 1-3 contain a linear metal core, while in the isostructural tetranuclear complexes 4-6 the metal framework has a plane star-shaped arrangement. Cluster 7 adopts a structural motif that involves a digold unit bridged by two arms of the PPPP phosphines and decorated two spatially separated Cu(I) ions chelated by the remaining P donors. The NMR spectroscopic investigation in DMSO solution revealed the heterometallic clusters 2, 3, and 6 are stereochemically nonrigid and undergo reversible metal ions redistribution between several species, accompanied by their solvation-desolvation. The complexes 1-3 and 5-7 exhibit room temperature luminescence in the solid state (Φem = 6-64%) in the spectral region from 450 to 563 nm. The phosphorescence observed originates from the triplet excited states, determined by the metal cluster-centered dσ* → pσ transitions.