Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Colors and Magnetism

Colors and Magnetism

Color in Coordination Complexes
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.

Valence Bond Theory

Valence Bond Theory

Coordination compounds and complexes exhibit different colors, geometries, and magnetic behavior, depending on the metal atom/ion and ligands from which they are composed. In an attempt to explain the bonding and structure of coordination complexes, Linus Pauling proposed the valence bond theory, or VBT, using the concepts of hybridization and the overlapping of the atomic orbitals. According to VBT, the central metal atom or ion (Lewis acid) hybridizes to provide empty orbitals of suitable...

Complexation Equilibria: The Chelate Effect

Complexation Equilibria: The Chelate Effect

In complexation reactions, metal atoms or cations interact with ligands to form donor-acceptor adducts called metal complexes. Ligands that bind through one donor site are monodentate, ligands with two donor sites are bidentate, and those with more than two donor sites are polydentate ligands. For example, ethylene diamine is a bidentate ligand that binds through two nitrogen donor atoms, forming a five-membered ring. EDTA is a polydentate ligand that binds through four oxygen and two nitrogen...

Crystal Field Theory - Tetrahedral and Square Planar Complexes

Crystal Field Theory - Tetrahedral and Square Planar Complexes

Tetrahedral Complexes
Crystal field theory (CFT) is applicable to molecules in geometries other than octahedral. In octahedral complexes, the lobes of the dx2−y2 and dz2 orbitals point directly at the ligands. For tetrahedral complexes, the d orbitals remain in place, but with only four ligands located between the axes. None of the orbitals points directly at the tetrahedral ligands. However, the dx2−y2 and dz2 orbitals (along the Cartesian axes) overlap with the ligands less than the dxy,...

Variables Affecting Phosphorescence and Fluorescence

Variables Affecting Phosphorescence and Fluorescence

Fluorescence and phosphorescence are essential phenomena in fields like analytical chemistry, biological imaging, and materials science, where they detect molecular properties and visualize cellular structures. Understanding the variables that influence these luminescent behaviors is crucial for maximizing accuracy and efficiency in their applications. These variables can broadly be grouped into chemical structure, solvent properties, and external conditions, each playing a distinct role in...

The Antenna Complex

The Antenna Complex

Plants and other photosynthetic organisms comprise pigments capable of absorption of direct sunlight. These pigments are present in the reaction center - the main site of photochemical reactions as well as in the antenna complex. Under average light conditions, the rate at which reaction center pigments absorb light is far below the electron transport chain's capacity. As a result, the reaction center alone cannot provide enough energy to drive photosynthesis. The photosynthetic efficiency can...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Trends in the management and coding of chronic kidney disease in Spain: cross-sectional analyses of real-life data with a 5-year interval.

Clinical kidney journal·2026

Same author

Luminescence behaviour of nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dots <i>via</i> solvent variation for ferric ion sensing.

RSC advances·2026

Same author

CKD as an independent driver of polypharmacy.

Clinical kidney journal·2026

Same author

Retraction: Planar chiral orange-red TADF materials with AIE properties for efficient circularly polarized OLEDs.

Chemical communications (Cambridge, England)·2026

Same author

Hepatitis C therapy with pangenotypic direct-acting antivirals: Drug-drug interactions in drug-using HCV patients and antipsychotic-treated HCV patients.

Adicciones·2026

Same author

A Novel Minimally Invasive Porcine Model of Functional Tricuspid Regurgitation.

Journal of cardiovascular development and disease·2026

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 14, 2026

Integrating a Triplet-triplet Annihilation Up-conversion System to Enhance Dye-sensitized Solar Cell Response to Sub-bandgap Light

Integrating a Triplet-triplet Annihilation Up-conversion System to Enhance Dye-sensitized Solar Cell Response to Sub-bandgap Light

Published on: September 12, 2014

Efficient sensitized emission in Yb(III) pentachlorotropolonate complexes.

Ignacio Hernández¹, You-Xuan Zheng, Majid Motevalli

¹School of Physics and Astronomy, Queen Mary University of London, London, E1 4NS, UK.

Chemical Communications (Cambridge, England)

|February 1, 2013

Summary

New ytterbium(III) complexes with pentachlorotropolonate ligands exhibit strong infrared emission. One complex achieved the highest quantum yield for nonfluorinated infrared emitters, advancing organolanthanide research.

More Related Videos

Phase-Dependent Control of Trap Depth and Persistent Luminescence in Strontium Aluminate Phosphors

Phase-Dependent Control of Trap Depth and Persistent Luminescence in Strontium Aluminate Phosphors

Published on: December 5, 2025

Luminescence Resonance Energy Transfer to Study Conformational Changes in Membrane Proteins Expressed in Mammalian Cells

Luminescence Resonance Energy Transfer to Study Conformational Changes in Membrane Proteins Expressed in Mammalian Cells

Published on: September 16, 2014

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 14, 2026

Integrating a Triplet-triplet Annihilation Up-conversion System to Enhance Dye-sensitized Solar Cell Response to Sub-bandgap Light

Integrating a Triplet-triplet Annihilation Up-conversion System to Enhance Dye-sensitized Solar Cell Response to Sub-bandgap Light

Published on: September 12, 2014

Phase-Dependent Control of Trap Depth and Persistent Luminescence in Strontium Aluminate Phosphors

Phase-Dependent Control of Trap Depth and Persistent Luminescence in Strontium Aluminate Phosphors

Published on: December 5, 2025

Luminescence Resonance Energy Transfer to Study Conformational Changes in Membrane Proteins Expressed in Mammalian Cells

Luminescence Resonance Energy Transfer to Study Conformational Changes in Membrane Proteins Expressed in Mammalian Cells

Published on: September 16, 2014

Area of Science:

Inorganic Chemistry
Materials Science
Photophysics

Background:

Organolanthanide complexes are investigated for their unique luminescent properties.
Infrared-emitting materials are crucial for applications in telecommunications, sensing, and bioimaging.
Developing efficient and stable infrared emitters remains a challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

To synthesize and characterize novel ytterbium(III) complexes utilizing the pentachlorotropolonate (pctrop) ligand.
To investigate the infrared emission properties of these new complexes upon excitation of an organic chromophore.
To evaluate the potential of these complexes as efficient non-fluorinated infrared emitters.

Main Methods:

Synthesis of Yb(III) complexes with the pentachlorotropolonate ligand.
Spectroscopic characterization, including UV-Vis absorption and emission spectroscopy.
Quantum yield measurements to quantify luminescence efficiency.
Crystallographic analysis to determine structural properties.

Main Results:

Successful synthesis of new Yb(III) complexes incorporating the pctrop ligand.
Observed enhanced infrared emission upon excitation of the organic chromophore.
Yb(pctrop)(3)(DMF-d(7))(2) complex demonstrated a significantly high quantum yield.
The complex represents the highest reported quantum yield for a nonfluorinated infrared-emitting organolanthanide.

Conclusions:

The pentachlorotropolonate ligand effectively facilitates enhanced infrared emission in Yb(III) complexes.
The synthesized Yb(III) complexes show promise as efficient non-fluorinated infrared emitters.
This work contributes to the development of advanced materials for infrared luminescence applications.