Phosphorescent Isocyanide-Metal-Carboranyl Complexes of Copper(I) and Gold(I): Synthesis and Radioluminescence

Samuel L Powley; Charlotte Riley; Nguyen Le Phuoc; Aliaksandr Baidak; Mikko Linnolahti; Alexander S Romanov

doi:10.1002/chem.202404575

Phosphorescent Isocyanide-Metal-Carboranyl Complexes of Copper(I) and Gold(I): Synthesis and Radioluminescence

Chemistry. 2025 Mar 20;31(17):e202404575. doi: 10.1002/chem.202404575. Epub 2025 Feb 11.

Authors

Samuel L Powley¹, Charlotte Riley¹, Nguyen Le Phuoc², Aliaksandr Baidak^{1

3}, Mikko Linnolahti², Alexander S Romanov¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, The University of Manchester, Oxford Rd, Manchester, M13 9PL, United Kingdom.
² Department of Chemistry and Sustainable Technology, University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu Campus, FI-80101, Joensuu, Finland.
³ Dalton Cumbrian Facility, The University of Manchester, West Lakes Science Park, Moor Row, CA24 3HA, United Kingdom.

PMID: 39888073
DOI: 10.1002/chem.202404575

Abstract

A series of (L)MX (L=isocyanide; M=Cu(I) or Au(I); X=chloride or carboranyl) complexes have been prepared. The first examples of isocyanide Cu(I) chloride complexes with 1 : 1 stoichiometry between isocyanide and CuCl are reported and structurally characterised. The photophysical properties of (RNC)AuCl and (RNC)Au(η¹-carboranyl) complexes have been investigated. Complexes (RNC)Au(η¹-carboranyl) show no aurophilic Au-Au interactions and emit long-lived deep-blue phosphorescence up to 377 μs. The radioluminescence of these gold complexes was studied to show a superior radioluminescence stability for the gold(carboranyl) complexes compared to gold chloride materials under constant high energy X-ray radiation of 350 keV.

Keywords: Copper complex; Gold complex; Isocyanide ligands; Photoluminescence; X-ray radioluminescence.

Abstract

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