The synthesis and photoluminescence properties of the bright-yellow organocerium complex [{(CptBu2 )2 Ce(μ-Cl)}2 ] (CptBu2 =1,3-di(tert-butyl)cyclopentadienyl) are presented. This coordination compound exhibits highly efficient photoluminescence within the yellow-light wavelength range, with a high internal quantum yield of 61(±2) % at room temperature. The large red shift is attributed to the delocalizing ability of the aromatic ligands, whilst its quantum yield even makes this compound competitive with Ce3+ -activated LED phosphors in terms of its photoluminescence efficiency (disregarding its thermal stability). A bridging connection between two crystallographically independent Ce3+ ions is anticipated to be the reason for the highly efficient photoluminescence, even up to room temperature. The emission spectrum is characterized by two bands in the orange-light range at both 10 K and room temperature, which are attributed to the parity-allowed transitions 5d1 (2 D3/2 )→4f1 (2 F7/2 ) and 5d1 (2 D3/2 )→4f1 (2 F5/2 ) of Ce3+ , respectively. The photoluminescence spectra were interpreted in relation to the structure and vibrational modes of the coordination compound. The spectra and optical properties indicate that trivalent cerium ions are the dominant species in the ground state, which also resolves an often-encountered ambiguity in organocerium compounds. This result shows that photoluminescence spectroscopy is a versatile tool that can help elucidate the oxidation state of Ce in such compounds.
Keywords: bridging ligands; cerium; lanthanides; photoluminescence; sandwich complexes.
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