Photoresponsive Propeller‐like Chiral AIE Copper(I) Clusters

• Published in: Angewandte Chemie International Edition Vol. 59; no. 13; pp. 5336 - 5340
• Main Authors: Kong, Yu‐Jin, Yan, Zhi‐Ping, Li, Si, Su, Hui‐Fang, Li, Kai, Zheng, You‐Xuan, Zang, Shuang‐Quan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 23.03.2020
• Edition: International ed. in English
• Subjects: aggregation-induced emission; Charge transfer; Circular polarization; circularly polarized luminescence; copper; Emission analysis; Fluorescence; Irradiation; Ligands; Light irradiation; Luminescence; Metal clusters; Multifunctional materials; Oxidation; Oxygen enrichment; photoresponsive compounds; Reactive oxygen species; Ultraviolet radiation; aggregation-induced emission; copper; photoresponsive compounds; circularly polarized luminescence; metal clusters
• ISSN: 1433-7851; 1521-3773
• DOI: 10.1002/anie.201915844

A pair of propeller‐like chiral trinuclear CuI clusters (R/S‐Cu3) with unique photoinduced fluorescence enhancement were prepared. R/S‐Cu3 showed intense variable luminescence after UV light irradiation, which was attributed to the stepwise oxidation of ligand in the clusters. It exhibited typical aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) (αAIE=17.3). Mechanism studies showed that metal cluster‐centered (MCC) and triplet metal‐to‐ligand charge‐transfer (3MLCT) processes are the origin of the luminescence; the processes are regulated by a restriction of intramolecular motions mechanism in a different state. The chiral structure and AIE feature endow R/S‐Cu3 with remarkable circularly polarized luminescence (glum=2×10−2) in the aggregated state. It shows good capability for producing reactive oxygen species. This work enriches the kinds of atomically precise AIE clusters, gains insight into their luminescence mechanism, and offers the prospect of application in multifunctional materials. All in a spin: A pair of propeller‐like chiral trinuclear CuI clusters with typical aggregation induced emission (AIE) features were developed. They exhibit exceptional photoinduced fluorescence enhancement.