Rhenium(I) Complexes with Sulfur-Bridged Dipyridyl Ligands: Structural, Photophysical, and Computational Studies

A series of six new rhenium(I) tricarbonyl complexes [Re(CO) 3 (N–N)Br] bearing sulfur-bridged dipyridyl (N–N) ligands with three different oxidation states (sulfide (S), sulfoxide (SO), and sulfone (SO 2 )) are described. Spectroscopic studies show that changing the oxidation state of the ligands influences the photophysical properties of the complexes, with complexes 3 and 6 containing the sulfone ligand exhibiting a lower energy MLCT absorption band tailing into the visible region. Solution-state emission measurements show that these complexes exhibit readily tunable emission energies from 480 to 610 nm, depending on the oxidation state of the sulfur bridge and the presence of substituents on the pyridyl rings. Solid-state emission measurements show that the emission is significantly red-shifted upon oxidation of the sulfur bridge to sulfone with enhanced photoluminescence quantum yield.