Competing excitation paths in luminescent heterobimetallic Ln-Al complexes: Unraveling interactions via experimental and theoretical investigations

Summary: The interest for heterometallic lanthanide-d or-p metal (Ln-M) complexes is growing because of a potential cooperative or synergistic effect related to the proximity of two different metals in the same molecular architecture affording special tunable physical properties. To exploit the pote...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Luca Bellucci, Silvia Carlotto, Gregorio Bottaro, Luca Babetto, Luca Labella, Elisa Gallo, Fabio Marchetti, Simona Samaritani, Lidia Armelao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2023-05-01
Series:iScience
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004223006910
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Summary:Summary: The interest for heterometallic lanthanide-d or-p metal (Ln-M) complexes is growing because of a potential cooperative or synergistic effect related to the proximity of two different metals in the same molecular architecture affording special tunable physical properties. To exploit the potentiality of Ln-M complexes, suitable synthetic approaches, and the in-depth understanding of the effect of each building block on their properties are mandatory. Here, we report the study on a family of heterometallic luminescent complexes [Ln(hfac)3Al(L)3], Ln= Eu3+ and Tb3+. Using different L ligands, we investigated the effect of the steric and electronic properties of the Al(L)3 fragment, highlighting the general validity of the employed synthetic route. A marked difference in the light emission of [Eu(hfac)3Al(L)3] and [Tb(hfac)3Al(L)3] complexes has been observed. Thanks to photoluminescence experiments and Density Functional Theory calculations, Ln3+ emissions are explained with a model involving two non-interacting excitation paths through hfac or Al(L)3 ligands.
ISSN:2589-0042