Tuning the photoluminescence of condensed-phase cyclic trinuclear Au(I) complexes through control of their aggregated structures by external stimuli

A series of new cyclic trinuclear Au(I) complexes with alkoxy side chains of various lengths were synthesized as photoluminescence materials. None of the complexes emitted luminescence in solution; however, some showed photoluminescence in the crystalline phase. Single crystal X-ray structural analyses revealed that an intermolecular interaction between two Au atoms (aurophilic interaction) existed only in the emissive complexes, which formed molecular aggregates in the crystal. Because isolated molecules show no luminescence in the present system, we conclude that only molecules aggregated via aurophilic interactions can luminesce. We demonstrated that luminescence properties, such as colour and intensity, were very sensitive to the aggregated structure of the molecules. We also found that such luminescence properties can be controlled by a change in the aggregated structure induced by external stimuli, such as heat, solvent, and mechanical stress.