From homonuclear to heteronuclear: a viable strategy to promote and modulate phosphorescence

Numerous mononuclear platinum(ii) complexes are non-emissive or weakly emissive under ambient conditions, but the corresponding Pt-M (M = Cu(i), Ag(i), Au(i), etc.) heteronuclear assemblies could become intensely luminescent because of the inhibition of non-radiative relaxation and the promotion of intersystem crossing from singlet to triplet state through Pt-M intermetallic interactions. To this end, the fabrication of specifically structured Pt-M complexes by the use of slightly luminescent homonuclear Pt(ii) precursors provides a promising approach to switching on phosphorescence as well as modulating emission energy and colour. This feature article is aimed at providing some typical examples for attaining highly phosphorescent Pt-M heteronuclear complexes using homonuclear Pt(ii) precursors, focusing on the assembly strategy, the correlation of emissive properties to the structures, and the application of phosphorescence in sensing and light-emitting devices.