Phosphorescent Cyclometalated Palladium(II) and Platinum(II) Complexes Derived from Diaminocarbene Precursors.

Metal-mediated self-assembly of isocyanides and methyl 4-aminopyrimidine-5-carboxylate leads to luminescent Pd and Pt complexes featuring C,N-cyclometalated acyclic diaminocarbene (ADC) ligands. The solid-state luminescent properties of these diaminocarbene derivatives are attributed to their triplet-state metal/metal-to-ligand charge-transfer (MMLCT) nature, which is driven by attractive intermolecular M···M interactions further reinforced by the intramolecular π-π interactions even in the structure of the Pd compound, which is the first Pd-ADC phosphor reported.