Phase transition and photoluminescence behavior of liquid-crystalline gold complexes containing siloxane moiety

Abstract

Gold complexes are known to show strong luminescence in condensed phases caused by aurophilic interaction, and their luminescent properties can be controlled by changing the aggregated structures. We have developed luminescent gold complexes showing liquid-crystalline (LC) phase. These complexes can modulate their aggregated structure by phase transition, and showed multi-color luminescence behavior depends on their aggregated structure. To develop such gold complexes as functional materials, in this study, we synthesized novel gold complexes with a siloxane moiety at the terminal of flexible chain to lower melting point and expand LC phase temperature. In this study, we evaluated their phase transition behavior and photophysical properties in condensed phases, anddiscussed a relationship between their properties and aggregated structure.