Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 9, 2026

IridiumIII Luminescent Probe for Detection of the Malarial Protein Biomarker Histidine Rich Protein-II
Published on: July 7, 2015
Triple-helical aggregates of copper(i) cyclic trinuclear complexes for circularly polarized luminescence
Guo-Quan Huang1, Hu Yang1, Ri-Qin Xia1
1College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Coordination Chemistry, Jinan University Guangzhou Guangdong 510632 P. R. China weiganglu@jnu.edu.cn jizheng@jnu.edu.cn zhouxp@jnu.edu.cn danli@jnu.edu.cn.
Abstract:
Achieving chirality transfer and amplification through controlled supramolecular aggregation has long been a challenge in chemistry. This study presents the self-assembly of homochiral triple-helical aggregates (P- and M-type) with enantiomerically pure Cu(i) cyclic trinuclear complexes (CTCs) through metallophilic and hydrogen-bonding interactions. Both P- and M-type aggregates exhibit bright orange-red phosphorescence and circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) emission with an exceptional luminescence dissymmetry factor (g lum) of approximately ±1 × 10-2. These values are the highest among coinage metal-based complexes with emissions across the red and near-infrared. Experimental results and computational simulations reveal that the extensive overlap of chiral and luminescent centers is key to enabling CPL activity. Further installing naphthyl chromophore in the pyrazolate ligands results in isostructural triple-helical aggregates with rarely observed dual CPL emission behavior. Overall, this study showcases the successful construction of homochiral triple-helical aggregates by incorporating chiral centers and hydrogen-bonding sites into the peripheral pyrazolate ligands of Cu(i) CTCs, allowing for chirality transfer and amplification, evidenced by large g lum values of CPL emission. These findings may facilitate the bottom-up design of homochiral supramolecular aggregates for CPL-related applications.
Related Concept Videos
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...
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...
Valence Bond Theory
Coordination Number and Geometry
Crystal Field Theory - Tetrahedral and Square Planar 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,...
Metal-Ligand Bonds
In these complexes, transition metals form coordinate covalent bonds, a kind of Lewis acid-base interaction in which both of the electrons in the bond are contributed by a donor (Lewis base) to an electron acceptor (Lewis acid). The Lewis acid in...

![[DPEPhosbcpCu]PF6: A General and Broadly Applicable Copper-Based Photoredox Catalyst](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcloudfront.jove.com%2FCDNSource%2Fteasers%2F59739.jpg&w=3840&q=50)