A series of platinum 4,6-diphenyl-2,2'-bipyridine complexes (6-10) with alkoxyl substituent on the 6-phenyl ring have been synthesized and characterized. The influence of the alkoxyl substituent on the nature of the low-lying excited states, and thus the photophysical properties, have been systematically investigated spectroscopically and theoretically. Complexes 6-10 exhibit a broad low-energy charge-transfer absorption band from 400 to 500 nm, which shows weak negative solvatochromic effect. They all emit at about 590 nm in fluid solutions at room temperature, with the emission energy essentially independent of the nature of the monodentate ligand and the polarity of solvent. The excited-state lifetimes of 6 and 7 are much longer (approximately 460-570 ns) than those of their corresponding "alkoxyl free" analogues 12 and 13 (approximately 40-100 ns) in CH(3)CN. Additionally, the emission quantum yields of 7-9 in CH(2)Cl(2) are quite high (0.15-0.21). Spectroscopic studies and Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory (TDDFT) calculations indicate that these unique photophysical properties are induced by the electron-donating ability of the alkoxyl substituent, which causes a mixture of the intraligand charge transfer (ILCT) with the metal-to-ligand charge transfer (MLCT)/ligand-to-ligand charge transfer (LLCT) in their low-lying excited states. Complexes 6-10 exhibit broad triplet transient difference absorption in the near-UV to the near-IR region, where reverse saturable absorption (RSA) could occur. Nonlinear absorption experiments at 532 nm for nanosecond laser pulses demonstrate that 6-9 are strong reverse saturable absorbers, while 10 exhibits weak RSA because of its larger ground-state absorption cross-section and its low triplet excited-state quantum yield.

A series of platinum(II) diimine complexes with different substituents on fluorenyl acetylide ligands (1a-1e) were synthesized and characterized. The influence of the auxiliary substituent on the photophysics of these complexes has been systematically investigated spectroscopically and theoretically (using density functional theory (DFT) methods). All complexes exhibit ligand-centered (1)π,π* transitions in the UV and blue spectral region, and broad, structureless (1)MLCT/(1)LLCT (1a, 1b, 1d and 1e) or (1)MLCT/(1)LLCT/(1)π,π* (1c) absorption bands in the visible region. All complexes are emissive in solution at room temperature, with the emitting state is tentatively assigned to mixed (3)MLCT/(3)π,π* states. The degree of (3)π,π* and (3)MLCT mixing varies with different substituents and solvent polarities. Complexes 1a-1e exhibit relatively strong singlet and triplet transient absorption from 450 to 800 nm, at which point reverse saturable absorption (RSA) could occur. Nonlinear transmission experiments at 532 nm by using nanosecond laser pulses demonstrate that 1a-1e are strong reverse saturable absorbers and could potentially be used as broadband nonlinear absorbing materials.

Two new Pt(II) 4,4'-di(5,9-diethyltridecan-7-yl)-2,2'-bipyridine complexes (1 and 2) bearing 9,9-diethyl-2-ethynyl-7-(2-(4-nitrophenyl)ethynyl)-9H-fluorene ligand and N-(4-(2-(9,9-diethyl-7-ethynyl-9H-fluoren-2-yl)ethynyl)phenyl)-N-phenylbenzeneamine ligand, respectively, were synthesized and characterized. Their photophysical properties were investigated systematically by UV-vis absorption, emission, and transient absorption (TA) spectroscopy, and the nonlinear absorption was studied by nonlinear transmission technique. Theoretical TD-DFT calculations using the CAM-B3LYP functional were carried out to determine the nature of the singlet excited electronic states and to assist in the assignment of significant transitions observed in experiments. Complex 1 exhibits an intense, structureless absorption band at ca. 397 nm in CH2Cl2 solution, which is attributed to mixed metal-to-ligand charge transfer ((1)MLCT)/ligand-to-ligand charge transfer ((1)LLCT)/intraligand charge transfer ((1)ILCT)/(1)π,π* transitions, and two (1)MLCT/(1)LLCT transitions in the 300-350 nm spectral region. Complex 2 possesses an intense acetylide ligand localized (1)π,π* absorption band at ca. 373 nm and a moderately intense (1)MLCT/(1)LLCT tail above 425 nm in CH2Cl2. Both complexes are emissive in solution at room temperature, with the emitting state being tentatively assigned to the predominant (3)π,π* state for 1, whereas the emitting state of 2 exhibits a switch from (3)π,π* state in high-polarity solvents to (3)MLCT/(3)LLCT state in low-polarity solvents. Both 1 and 2 exhibit strong singlet excited-state TA in the visible to NIR region, where reverse saturable absorption (RSA) is feasible. The spectroscopic studies and theoretical calculations indicate that the photophysical properties of these Pt complexes can be tuned drastically by extending the π-conjugation of the acetylide ligands. In addition, strong RSA was observed at 532 nm for nanosecond (ns) laser pulses from 1 and 2, demonstrating that the RSA of the Pt(II) diimine complexes can be improved by extending the π-conjugation of the acetylide ligands.

Platinum(II) diimine complexes with naphthalimide substituted fluorenylacetylide ligands are synthesized and characterized. The complexes exhibit long-lived (3)ILCT or (3)ILCT/(3)MLCT/(3)LLCT excited states (τ = ~20-30 μs) and broadband triplet transient absorption in the visible-NIR region. Nonlinear transmission experiments at 532 nm demonstrate that these complexes are efficient nonlinear absorbing materials.

A platinum complex with the 6-(7-benzothiazol-2'-yl-9,9-diethyl-9H-fluoren-2-yl)-2,2'-bipyridinyl ligand (1) was synthesized and the crystal structure was determined. UV/Vis absorption, emission, and transient difference absorption of 1 were systematically investigated. DFT calculations were carried out on 1 to characterize the electronic ground state and aid in the understanding of the nature of low-lying excited electronic states. Complex 1 exhibits intense structured (1)π-π* absorption at λ(abs)<440 nm, and a broad, moderate (1)MLCT/(1)LLCT transition at 440-520 nm in CH(2)Cl(2) solution. A structured (3)π-π*/(3)MLCT emission at about 590 nm was observed at room temperature and at 77 K. Complex 1 exhibits both singlet and triplet excited-state absorption from 450 nm to 750 nm, which are tentatively attributed to the (1)π-π* and (3)π-π* excited states of the 6-(7-benzothiazol-2'-yl-9,9-diethyl-9H-fluoren-2-yl)-2,2'-bipyridine ligand, respectively. Z-scan experiments were conducted by using ns and ps pulses at 532 nm, and ps pulses at a variety of visible and near-IR wavelengths. The experimental data were fitted by a five-level model by using the excited-state parameters obtained from the photophysical study to deduce the effective singlet and triplet excited-state absorption cross sections in the visible spectral region and the effective two-photon absorption cross sections in the near-IR region. Our results demonstrate that 1 possesses large ratios of excited-state absorption cross sections relative to that of the ground-state in the visible spectral region; this results in a remarkable degree of reverse saturable absorption from 1 in CH(2)Cl(2) solution illuminated by ns laser pulses at 532 nm. The two-photon absorption cross sections in the near-IR region for 1 are among the largest values reported for platinum complexes. Therefore, 1 is an excellent, broadband, nonlinear absorbing material that exhibits strong reverse saturable absorption in the visible spectral region and large two-photon-assisted excited-state absorption in the near-IR region.

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A multireference configuration interaction (CI) method which includes single and double excitations based description of adiabatic Floquet states for the electronic structure of a molecule in an intense laser field is introduced. Using a variant of a recently introduced configuration state function (CSF) based Table-CI methodology, it is shown that the multiple states of several irreducible representations required for a good description of low-lying Floquet states can be obtained using modifications of computational molecular electronic structure techniques. In particular, formulas for all components of the transition dipole moment matrix elements within the CSF-based Table-CI method are derived and presented. Moreover, the flexibility of the recently introduced macroconfiguration description of model and external configuration spaces is shown to lead to multiple potential energy surfaces of sufficiently uniform quality to allow construction of useful Floquet states. The formalism and computer programs developed are demonstrated on Li(2) (+) in a 0.9 x 10(12) W/cm(2) field. In analogy with Na(2) (+), the 1,2 (2)Sigma(g) (+), 1,2 (2)Sigma(u) (+), 1 (2)Pi(g), and 1 (2)Pi(u) states are of relevance, although the pattern of couplings is shown to be more complex. A hitherto unnoticed metastable state, which correlates asymptotically with 2 (2)Sigma(u) (+), is described.

Platinum terpyridyl (tpy) phenylacetylide complexes with -Cl, -CN, and -NMe(2) substituents on the 4'-position of the tpy ligand were synthesized and characterized. Their photophysical properties were systematically investigated. In addition, theoretical electronic structure calculations using density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent (TD-DFT) approaches were carried out for complexes and ; the results of these calculations provided additional information on the nature of the electronic structures of the low-lying electronic states of these complexes, including the electron density distribution and the composition of the frontier molecular orbitals. Complexes exhibit moderately intense charge-transfer bands in the visible region, which are assigned to the (1)MLCT/(1)LLCT transitions. In comparison to their corresponding chloride complexes , these charge-transfer bands become broadened and red-shifted. Complexes emit at room temperature in CH(3)CN and CH(2)Cl(2) solutions and at 77 K in butyronitrile glassy solutions. At room temperature, the emission is tentatively attributed to (3)MLCT for and , and to a mixture of (3)MLCT/(3)ILCT/(3)pi,pi* for . Due to the admixture of (3)ILCT/(3)pi,pi* characters in its emitting state, displays a much higher emission quantum yield and longer emission lifetime compared to and . Replacing the chloride co-ligand in by phenylacetylide co-ligand clearly enhances the emission and prolongs the lifetime. exhibit a broad and moderately intense triplet excited-state absorption in the visible to the NIR region, with large excited-state absorption coefficients and moderately high triplet excited state quantum yields. Therefore, complexes , especially , have potential applications in organic light emitting devices (OLED) and as reverse saturable absorbing materials.