The X-ray structure of (Tl[Au(C(6)Cl(5))(2)])(n), 1, consists of 1-D linear polymer chains parallel to the crystallographic z axis. The crystal structure of 1 has channels that run parallel to these chains with interatom distances in the range 3.231-4.076 A. There are holes in these channels with diameters as large as 10.471 A, which can accommodate a variety of solvents. Complex 1 displays reversible vapochromic emission and absorption spectral behavior when the solid is exposed to a variety of organic vapors such as acetone, acetonitrile, triethylamine, acetylacetone, tetrahydrothiophene, 2-fluoropyridine, tetrahydrofuran, and pyridine. Complex 1 is luminescent at room temperature and at 77 K in the solid state. UV excitation at 495 nm leads to an emission at 531 nm.

The luminescence in a series of new bimetallic gold-silver vapochromic structures can be efficiently switched among different colors simply by exposure to solvent vapors. The emission color in these systems is controlled by both aurophilic interactions and halogen bonding, which affect the emission energy through different orbitals.

The synthesis, structural characterization, and the study of the photophysical properties of complexes [Au 2 Ag 2 (C 6 F 5 ) 4 (NtCCH 3 ) 2 ] n (1) and [Au 2 Cu 2 (C 6 F 5 ) 4 (NtCCH 3 ) 2 ] n (2) have been carried out. The crystal structure of both complexes consists of polymeric chains formed by repetition of Au 2 Ag 2 or Au 2 Cu 2 units built up by metallophilic Au(I)‚‚‚M(I) interactions that are linked through Au(I)‚‚‚Au(I) interactions. Complexes 1 and 2 are brightly luminescent in the solid state at room temperature and at 77 K with lifetimes in the nanosecond range. Both compounds 1 and 2 undergo oligomerization in solution, as observed through UV-vis and excitation spectra in acetonitrile solutions at high concentrations. Thus, a correlation between the excitation spectra in solution at different concentrations and the absorption spectra in the solid state for complex 1 can be established. Time-dependent DFT calculations agree well with the experimental results and support the idea of that the origin of the luminescence of these complexes arises from orbitals located in the tetranuclear Au 2 M 2 units.

The linear-chain polymer [Tl[Au(C(6)Cl(5))(2)]](n), 1, reacts in the solid state and in solution with different volatile organic compounds such as tetrahydrofuran, acetone, tetrahydrothiophene, 2-fluoropyridine, acetonitrile, acetylacetone, and pyridine. Solid-state exposure of 1 to vapors of the above VOCs produces a selective and reversible change in its color that is perceptible to the human eye and even deeper under UV irradiation, allowing 1 to function as a sensor for these VOCs. Heating the samples exposed to the VOCs for a few minutes at 100 degrees C regenerates the original material without degradation, even after several exposure/heating cycles. The reversibility is further confirmed by X-ray powder diffraction measurements of complex 1 before and after exposure to vapors and again after heating the samples. The products obtained by reactions of complex 1 with the above VOCs as ligands in solution contain extended linear chains of alternating gold and thallium centers with two molecules of the organic ligands attached to each thallium atom. The stoichiometry of these materials has been confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction as [Tl(THF)(2)[Au(C(6)Cl(5))(2)]](n), 3, and [Tl(acacH)(2)[Au(C(6)Cl(5))(2)]](n), 5. Comparison of FT-IR, UV-vis, and luminescence spectra at room temperature and at 77 K of the solid samples of complexes 2-9 with the spectra of complex 1 after its exposure to VOCs suggests interaction occurs between the organic VOCs and thallium in each case. Thermogravimetric analyses data indicate that all the thallium centers in these derivatives of complex 1 are neither fully nor equally coordinatively saturated. The materials formed appear to be intermediates between complex 1 with no VOCs attached and complexes 3-9 which contain two organic ligands coordinated to each thallium. A crystal structure analyses of one of these intermediates, [Tl(THF)(0.5)[Au(C(6)Cl(5))(2)]](n), 1.0.5THF, confirms this. Density functional calculations are in accord with the observed experimental results. Analysis reveals a substantial participation of the metal atoms in transitions that give rise to the observed emissions. Crystallographic data are as follows. For 1.0.5THF: triclinic, P1, a = 8.9296(1) A, b = 11.2457(1) A, c = 21.2465(3) A, alpha = 96.7187(7) degrees, beta = 92.5886(6) degrees, gamma = 98.5911(8) degrees, V = 2090.87(4) A(3), and Z = 2. For 3: monoclinic, P2(1)/c, a = 26.4163(6) A, b = 12.1619(2) A, c = 28.0813(6) A, alpha = 90 degrees, beta = 161.9823(6) degrees, gamma = 90 degrees, V = 2790.51(10) A(3), and Z = 4. For 5: monoclinic, P2(1)/c, a = 9.8654(2) A, b = 29.8570(5) A, c = 11.6067(2) A, alpha = 90 degrees, beta = 114.5931(6) degrees, gamma = 90 degrees, V = 3108.64(10) A(3), and Z = 4.

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The reactions of solutions of TlPF(6) and OPPh(3) in tetrahydrofuran or acetone with NBu(4)[AuR(2)] (R=C(6)Cl(5), C(6)F(5)) gave the new complexes [Au(C(6)Cl(5))(2)](2)[Tl(OPPh(3))][Tl(OPPh(3))(L)] (L=THF (1), acetone (2)) and the previously reported [Tl(OPPh(3))(2)][Au(C(6)F(5))(2)] (3). The crystal structures of complexes 1 and 2 display extended unsupported chains with short intermolecular interactions between alternating gold(I) and thallium(I) centres. Moreover, the Tl(I) centres show two different types of geometrical environments, such as pseudotetrahedral and distorted trigonal-bipyramidal, due to the presence of solvent molecules that act as ligands in the solid-state structure. Quasirelativistic and nonrelativistic ab initio calculations were performed to study the nature of the intermetallic Au(I)-Tl(I) interactions and are consistent with the presence of a high ionic contribution (80 %) and dispersion-type (van der Waals) interaction with a charge-transfer contribution (20 %) when relativistic effects are taken into account. All complexes are luminescent in the solid state at room temperature and at 77 K. Complexes 1 and 2 show site-selective excitation, probably due to the different environments around the Tl(I) centres. The DFT and time-dependent (TD)-DFT calculations are in agreement with the experimental excitation spectra for all complexes and confirm the site-selective excitation behaviour as a function of the Tl(I) geometrical environment.

The reactions of tetrahydrofuran solutions of NBu(4)[AuR(2)] (R = C(6)F(5), C(6)Cl(5)) with TlPF(6) and 4,4'-bipyridine lead to the synthesis of the luminescent materials [Tl(bipy)](2)[Au(C(6)F(5))(2)](2) 1 and [Tl(bipy)][Tl(bipy)(0.5)(thf)][Au(C(6)Cl(5))(2)](2) 2 in high yield. The structures of these complexes, as analyzed by X-ray diffraction, consist of planar polymers formed by repetition of Tl-Au-Au-Tl (1) or Tl-Au-Tl'-Au (2) moieties linked through bidentate bridging bipy ligands. In complex 1 these layers are associated via Tl...F contacts between atoms of adjacent planes, whereas in complex 2 each two polymeric layers are linked through additional bridging bipy molecules. Both complexes are strongly luminescent at room temperature and at 77 K in the solid state, losing this characteristic in solution even at high concentrations. The luminescence is attributed to interactions between metal atoms which are strongly affected by their structural dispositions. DFT calculations are in accord with the observed experimental behavior, showing the nature of the orbitals involved in each transition. Detailed analyses reveal a substantial participation of the metals in the transition giving rise to the emission maxima, and also other more energetic bands in which the ligands are involved and which also give rise to these emissions. The obtained theoretical excitation spectra clearly match the experimental results.

[M(C6F5)(N(H)=CPh2)] (M = Ag (1) and Au (2)) complexes have been synthesized and characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis. Complex 1 shows a ladder-type structure in which two [Ag(C6F5)(N(H)=CPh2)] units are linked by a Ag(I)-Ag(I) interaction in an antiparallel disposition. The dimeric units are associated through hydrogen bonds of the type N-H...F(ortho). On the other hand, gold(I) complex 2 displays discrete dimers also in an antiparallel conformation in which both Au(I)-Au(I) interactions and N-H.F(ortho) hydrogen bonds appear within the dimeric units. The features of these coexisting interactions have been theoretically studied by ab initio calculations based on four different model systems in order to analyze them separately. The interactions have been analyzed at HF and MP2 levels of theory showing that, in this case, even at larger distances. The Au(I)-Au(I) interaction is stronger than Ag(I)-Ag(I) and that N-H.F hydrogen bonding and Au(I)-Au(I) contacts have a similar strength in the same molecule, which permits a competition between these two structural motifs giving rise to different structural arrangements.