Recent progress in coordination chemistry, photo-physical properties, and applications of pyridine-based Cu(I) complexes

Copper(I) [Cu(I)] complexes offer cheap and alternative materials for several real-life applications. Pyridine (Py), bipyridine (Bpy), and related analogues have strong donating ability with propensity to ease functionalization via modern synthetic protocols. A large number of Cu(I) complexes/clusters/polymers bearing functionalized Py-based ligands have emerged with rich coordination chemistry, fascinating structures, and intriguing photo-physical properties. This article sheds light on recent advances in the coordination chemistry and photophysical properties of Cu(I) complexes/clusters/polymers and their applications in the areas of optoelectronics (OE) (light emitting devices [LEDs] and dye-sensitized solar cells [DSSCs]) and sensing (aliphatic and aromatic gases).