A series of 4,5-diazafluoren-9-one-derived ligands and their Cu(I) complexes: Synthesis, characterization and photophysical properties

In this paper, a series of 4,5-diazafluoren-9-one-derived (Dafo-derived) diimine ligands and their corresponding Cu(I) complexes with bis(2-(diphenylphosphanyl)phenyl) ether as the auxiliary ligand are synthesized. Relationships between diimine ligands and photophysical properties of their corresponding Cu(I) complexes are discussed in detail. It is found that the introduction of an electron-donor moiety into one diimine ligand leads to a dramatic red shift of the absorption of corresponding Cu(I) complex, while, an electron-acceptor moiety demonstrates no obvious effect on Cu(I) complex absorption when introduced into diimine ligand. In addition, it is found that the intraligand charge transfer of Dafo-derived ligands acts as an efficient luminescence quencher within their corresponding Cu(I) complexes, leading to luminescence absence from metal-to-ligand-charge-transfer (MLCT) excited state.