Tuning the excited-state energy of the organic chromophore in bichromophoric systems based on the Ru(II) complexes of tridentate ligands.

A series of new heteroleptic and homoleptic Ru(II) complexes containing variously substituted bis(pyridyl)triazine ligands has been prepared and their absorption spectra, redox behaviour and luminescence properties (both in fluid solution at room temperature and in a rigid matrix at 77 K) have been investigated. For some compounds, X-ray structures have also been determined. The new bis(pyridyl)triazines incorporate additional chromophores, such as biphenyl, phenanthrene, anthracene and bromoanthracene derivatives, so the Ru(II) species can be considered as multichromophoric species. The absorption spectra and redox properties of all the metal complexes have been assigned to features belonging to specific subunits, thus suggesting that these species can be regarded as multicomponent, supramolecular assemblies from an electronic coupling point of view. Whereas most of the complexes exhibit luminescence properties that can be attributed to metal-to-ligand charge-transfer (MLCT) states involving the metal-based subunit(s), the species containing the anthryl and, even more, the brominated anthryl chromophores exhibit complicated luminescence behaviour. For example, 2 d (the anthryl-containing heteroleptic metal compound) exhibits MLCT emission at room temperature and emission from the anthracene triplet at 77 K; 2 e (the bromo-substituted anthryl-containing heteroleptic metal compound) exhibits anthryl-based emission at 77 K and MLCT emission at room temperature, but with a prolonged lifetime, thus suggesting equilibration between two triplet states that belong to different chromophores. The equilibration regime between MLCT and aromatic hydrocarbon triplet states is therefore reached by suitable substitution on the organic chromophore.