Synthesis of N^P and P^N^N^P ligands and their Cu(I) complexes for the application in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and as photosensitizers in the photocatalytic hydrogen generation

• Applicant: Dr. Stefan Metz
• Subject Area: Inorganic Molecular Chemistry - Synthesis and Characterisation
• Term: from 2009 to 2010
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 115670573

Transition metal complexes are of great interest for many different applications. Recent results in the research on organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and the photocatalytic reduction of water for the generation of hydrogen have demonstrated the great power of tailor-made transition metal complexes in these techniques. However, there are still some critical drawbacks preventing most complexes from industrial usability: i) usually rare elements are used as metal centers which make the production of compounds of this type too expensive, ii) most of the elements which are currently used are not environmentally harmless, and iii) the complexes are too unstable for a prolonged technical use. These problems can be avoided by i) replacing the metal centers with suitable elements which are available in larger amounts and ii) a specific modification of the ligands. Thus, Cu(I) complexes with tetradentate ligands providing a higher stability of the resulting complexes shall be synthesized.

• DFG Programme: Research Fellowships
• International Connection: USA
• Host: Professor Dr. Stefan Bernhard