Highly efficient cold-white light emission in a [Au₂CuCl₂(P∩N)₂]PF₆ type salt

Area of Science:

• Inorganic Chemistry
• Materials Science
• Photophysics

Background:

• Metallophilic interactions in polynuclear metal complexes are crucial for designing novel luminescent materials.
• Understanding the interplay between metal centers and ligands is key to controlling emission properties.
• Heterometallic clusters offer unique electronic structures and potential for tunable luminescence.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the luminescent properties of the trinuclear, heterometallic cluster compound [Au2CuCl2(P∩N)2]PF6.
• To elucidate the origin of the efficient cold-white light emission.
• To compare the performance of this gold-copper emitter with existing platinum(II) and iridium(III) based emitters.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis and characterization of the trinuclear, heterometallic cluster compound.
• Photoluminescence spectroscopy to analyze emission spectra, quantum yields, and lifetimes.
• Computational studies to understand electronic transitions and emissive state character.

Main Results:

• The compound [Au2CuCl2(P∩N)2]PF6 exhibits highly efficient cold-white light emission.
• Metallophilic interactions between gold and copper centers are identified as the primary drivers of luminescence.
• The emission originates from at least two thermally non-equilibrated emissive triplet states with distinct Cu → py and Au → py character.
• Exceptional spin-orbit coupling and short emission lifetimes were observed.

Conclusions:

• The synthesized gold-copper cluster compound is a promising candidate for efficient cold-white light emitters.
• The findings highlight the potential of heterometallic clusters and metallophilic interactions for advanced luminescent materials.
• The observed properties are competitive with state-of-the-art platinum(II) and iridium(III) emitters, suggesting new avenues in lighting technology.