Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 25, 2026

In Situ Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticles without Aggregation in the Interlayer Space of Layered Titanate Transparent Films
Published on: January 17, 2017
Phosphorescent excited state of [Au2[(Ph2Sb)2O]3]2+: Jahn-Teller distortion at only one gold(I) center
Vilma R Bojan1, Eduardo J Fernández, Antonio Laguna
1Facultatea de Chimie si Inginerie Chimica, Universitatea Babes-Bolyai, RO-400028 Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
Abstract:
Dinuclear three-coordinate Au(I) complex [Au2{(Ph2Sb)2O}3](ClO4)2 1 displays an interesting phosphorescent behavior in which a large Stokes' shift is observed. Ab initio calculations show that the main distortion for the first triplet excited state, which is responsible for the luminescence behavior of complex 1, is a Jahn-Teller distortion for only one of the Au(I) centers together with a gold-gold distance shortening. This behavior could be extrapolated to other phosphorescent dinuclear three-coordinate Au(I) complexes.
Related Concept Videos
Valence Bond Theory
Crystal Field Theory - Octahedral Complexes
To explain the observed behavior of transition metal complexes (such as colors), a model involving electrostatic interactions between the electrons from the ligands and the electrons in the unhybridized d orbitals of the central metal atom has been developed. This electrostatic model is crystal field theory (CFT). It helps to understand, interpret, and predict the colors, magnetic behavior, and some structures of coordination compounds of transition metals.
CFT focuses on...
Colors and Magnetism
When atoms or molecules absorb light at the proper frequency, their electrons are excited to higher-energy orbitals. For many main group atoms and molecules, the absorbed photons are in the ultraviolet range of the electromagnetic spectrum, which cannot be detected by the human eye. For coordination compounds, the energy difference between the d orbitals often allows photons in the visible range to be absorbed and emitted, which is seen as colors by the human eye.
UV–Vis Spectroscopy: Molecular Electronic Transitions
Deactivation Processes: Jablonski Diagram
Atomic Fluorescence Spectroscopy

