Functional organogold(III) complexes with bidentate cyclometalating ligands

Abstract

The advancement of organometallic chemistry over the past decades has accelerated the development of functional materials based on metal complexes. In particular, organometallic complexes based on the gold(III) system have been attracting increasing attention. The square planar gold(III) metal center can coordinate to different chromophoric ligands as in related iridium(III) and platinum(II) systems, allowing the synthesis of another library of metal-based functional materials. Bidentate cyclometalating ligands such as 2-phenylpyridine derivatives are amongst the most commonly used class of ligands for the synthesis of transition metal complexes and they have been used for the preparation of gold(III) complexes with tunable photophysical properties. In this review, the recent progress in the development of organometallic gold(III) complexes based on these bidentate cyclometalating ligands will be discussed, with specific foci on the applications of these gold(III) complexes as emitters for organic light-emitting diodes as well as their biological applications.