Luminescent CuI complexes have emerged as promising substitutes for phosphorescent emitters based on Ir, Pt and Os due to their abundance and low cost. The title heteroleptic cuprous complex, [9,9-dimethyl-4,5-bis(diphenylphosphanyl)-9H-xanthene-κ2P,P](2-methylquinolin-8-ol-κ2N,O)copper(I) hexafluorophosphate, [Cu(C10H9NO)(C39H32OP2)]PF6, conventionally abbreviated as [Cu(Xantphos)(8-HOXQ)]PF6, where Xantphos is the chelating diphosphine ligand 9,9-dimethyl-4,5-bis(diphenylphosphanyl)-9H-xanthene and 8-HOXQ is the N,O-chelating ligand 2-methylquinolin-8-ol that remains protonated at the hydroxy O atom, is described. In this complex, the asymmetric unit consists of a hexafluorophosphate anion and a whole mononuclear cation, where the CuI atom is coordinated by two P atoms from the Xantphos ligand and by the N and O atoms from the 8-HOXQ ligand, giving rise to a tetrahedral CuP2NO coordination geometry. The electronic absorption and photoluminescence properties of this complex have been studied on as-synthesized samples, whose purity had been determined by powder X-ray diffraction. In the detailed TD–DFT (time-dependent density functional theory) studies, the yellow emission appears to be derived from the inter-ligand charge transfer and metal-to-ligand charge transfer (M+L′)LCT excited state (LCT is ligand charge transfer).

Three new luminescent copper(I) iodide complexes with their respective phosphine ligands, namely [Cu(μ2-I)(o-Anisyl3P)]2·CH3CN (1), [Cu(μ3-I)(m-Anisyl3P)]4 (2) and [Cu(μ3-I)(p-Anisyl3P)]4 (3) (Anisyl = methoxyphenyl), have been synthesized by reacting CuI with the phosphine ligand in 1:1 molar ratio. All complexes were characterized by spectroscopic analysis (IR, UV–Vis), elemental analysis, and photoluminescence study. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction revealed that complex 1 is a di-nuclear cluster structure, while both of complex 2 and 3 are cubic-like tetra-nuclear cluster structures. All complexes exhibit intense blue-green luminescence in the solid state. The excited states of all complexes have been assigned as halide-to-ligand charge transfer state mixed with metal-to-ligand charge transfer character based on the TD-DFT calculations. The complex 2 and 3 are thermally stable according to thermogravimetric analysis so that they are suitable for applying in luminescent devices.

Three luminescent polymorphs based on a new copper(I) complex Cu(2-QBO)(PPh3)PF6 (1, PPh3 = triphenylphosphine, 2-QBO = 2-(2′-quinolyl)benzoxazole) have been synthesized and characterized by FT-IR, UV–vis, elemental analyses, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses. Each polymorph can reversibly convert from one to another through appropriate procedures. Interestingly, such interconversion can be distinguished by their intrinsic crystal morphologies and colors (namely α, dark yellow plate, β, orange block, γ, light yellow needle) as well as photoluminescent (PL) properties. X-ray crystal structure analyses of these three polymorphs show three different supramolecular structures from 1D to 3D, which are expected to be responsible for the formation of three different crystal morphologies such as needle, plate, and block. Combination of the experimental data with DFT calculations on these three polymorphs reveals that the polymorphic interconversion is triggered by the conformation isomerization of the 2-QBO ligand and can be successfully controlled by the polarity of the process solvents (affecting the molecular dipole moment) and thermodynamics (affecting the molecular total energy). It is also found that the different crystal colors of polymorphs and their PL properties are derived from different θ values (dihedral angle between benzoxazolyl and quinolyl group of the 2-QBO ligand) and P–Cu–P angles based on TD-DFT calculations. Moreover, an interesting phase interconversion between γ and β has also been found under different temperature, and this result is consistent with the DFT calculations in which the total energy of β is larger than that of γ. This polymorphism provides a good model to study the relationship between the structure and the physical properties in luminescent copper(I) complexes as well as some profound insights into their PL properties.

A series of strongly phosphorescent copper(I) halide complexes, namely [Cu(μ-X)POP]2 (X = Cl (1), Br (2), I (3), Br0.5Cl0.5 (4), POP = bis[2-(diphenylphosphino)phenyl]ether), have been synthesized by reacting CuX with the diphosphine ligand in 1:1 molar ratio. All complexes were characterized by spectroscopic analysis (IR, UV–Vis), elemental analysis, and photoluminescence study. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction revealed that complex 2 is a dinuclear structure which is constructed by two μ-X bridges and two POP ligands as μ2 bridges. Other complexes were determined as isologues of complex 2 by powder X-ray diffraction and elemental analysis. All complexes exhibit intense blue-green phosphorescence with a lifetime of ~1 μs in the solid state. The halogen-mixed complex presents a lightly change in the luminescence comparing to that of parent complexes. The excited states of all complexes have been assigned as halide-to-ligand charge transfer state mixed metal-to-ligand charge transfer character based on the time-dependent density functional theory calculations. All complexes are thermally stable according to thermogravimetric analysis so that they are suitable for applying in luminescent devices.

The reaction of isonicotinic acid (IN), sodium hydroxide, 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) and neodymium nitrate leads to the formation of a novel complex [Nd(phen)(IN)2(NO3)(H2O)2]21, which has been characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis: monoclinic, space group C2/c, with a = 24.93(2) Å, b = 9.452(3) Å, c = 21.406(5) Å, β = 97.87(2)°, and Z = 4. Complex 1 consists of a centrosymmetric dinclear molecule, and neodymium atoms are bridged by two carboxyl groups of two IN ligands. The dinuclear clusters of 1 are connected each other into a three-dimensional (3D) supramolecular framework, which is stabilized by O–H···O, O–H···N hydrogen bonds as well as π–π stacking interactions. Its electronic absorption and luminescence properties have also been investigated.