Metallophilic Interactions in Closed-Shell Metal-Metal Bonded Luminescent Systems and Their Tunability for Excited State Energy Transfer

Howard Patterson, University of Maine, is supported by the Inorganic, Bioinorganic and Organometallic Chemistry Program for photochemical studies of metal-metal bonded excimers and exciplexes. In solution or in the solid state, dicyanoaurate(I) and dicyanoargentate(I) ions oligomerize. The oligomers show complex photochemistry, including luminescence caused by metallophilic interactions. These systems can be tuned over 18,000 wavenumbers by doping or by adding various donor ions. This research project will look in detail at lifetime and time-resolved studies, vibrational analysis by Raman scattering and infrared, structural studies by x-ray and neutron diffraction, and theoretical analyses. The research will provide insight into metallophilic interactions and inorganic luminescent exciplexes.Inorganic complexes with this unusual photochemical behavior can be used to build solid state photonic systems. There are also applications in sensors and clinical assays using luminescence detection. Students will be trained in a variety of instruments and techniques that will be important in nanoscale science and engineering