Trinuclear d¹⁰ coinage-metal complexes exhibit bright/tunable phosphorescence with short lifetimes in the solid state at room temperature with sensitivity to multiple stimuli. Here we present our results for members of a newly-designed class of trinuclear complexes of triazolate:

 

1: R = H 2: R = Me 3: R = i-Pr 4: R = Cl 5: R = Br 6: R = I 7: R = CF3 8: R = COOR' 9: R = OH   M = Au(I), Ag(I) or Cu(I).

As the exo-N atom can serve as an H-bonding acceptor or as coordination sites for metal ions, the trimeric [MTz]₃ can be potentially used as building blocks for supramolecular chemistry and as potential sensors for metal ion coordination, H-bonding, or pH detection. The structure-luminescence correlation investigated systematically includes:

Ø       Tuning the emission color can be achieved by varying M and R;

Ø       Bright white emissions composed of ligand- and M-M excimeric triplet emissions are observed when R=Cl, Br or I;

Ø       Water-soluble luminorphores are obtained with R=OH or COOR'.