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Updated: Sep 17, 2025

[DPEPhosbcpCu]PF6: A General and Broadly Applicable Copper-Based Photoredox Catalyst

[DPEPhosbcpCu]PF6: A General and Broadly Applicable Copper-Based Photoredox Catalyst

Published on: May 21, 2019

Photoactive Neutral Three-Coordinate Cu(I) Complexes of Anionic N‑Heterocyclic Carbenes.

Lars E Burmeister¹, Lucie J Groth², Philipp R Meinhold²

¹Department of Energy Conversion, Institute of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Rebenring 31, 38106 Braunschweig, Germany.

|June 27, 2025

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Novel three-coordinate copper(I) complexes with specialized ligands exhibit enhanced stability and photophysical properties. These complexes efficiently drive molecular solar thermal energy storage reactions, expanding possibilities for copper-based photocatalysis.

Keywords:

TDDFT calculations anionic N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs)high triplet energy photosensitizers photocatalysis thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF)three-coordinate Cu(I) complexes

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Photogeneration of N-Heterocyclic Carbenes: Application in Photoinduced Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization

Photogeneration of N-Heterocyclic Carbenes: Application in Photoinduced Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization

Published on: November 29, 2018

Area of Science:

Coordination Chemistry
Photocatalysis
Materials Science

Background:

Three-coordinate copper(I) complexes show potential as photoactive materials.
Their application in photocatalysis is underdeveloped.
Ligand design is crucial for tuning stability and photophysical properties.

Purpose of the Study:

To synthesize and characterize novel three-coordinate Cu(I) complexes.
To investigate their photophysical properties and photocatalytic activity.
To explore their potential for molecular solar thermal energy storage (MOST).

Main Methods:

Synthesis of four novel Cu(I) complexes with WCA-NHC and dipyridylamine ligands.
Characterization using steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopy.
Electrochemical measurements, temperature-dependent emission studies, and quantum chemical calculations.

Main Results:

Complexes exhibit metal-to-ligand charge transfer absorption and thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF).
Achieved extended excited-state lifetimes (up to 8.6 μs) and high energies (≈2.7 eV).
Efficiently photosensitized norbornadiene-to-quadricyclane photoisomerization for MOST.

Conclusions:

Ligand selection is key to designing stable and photophysically robust three-coordinate Cu(I) complexes.
These complexes are effective photosensitizers for molecular solar thermal energy storage.
The study expands the utility of Cu(I) complexes in photochemistry and photocatalysis.