Antimony‐ and Bismuth‐Based Materials and Applications

This chapter discusses a number of emerging results which show that organometallic antimony and bismuth compounds show promise for the design of functional materials. Many organic compounds of antimony and bismuth have proved remarkably tolerant toward air and moisture, and are even compatible with aqueous media. Both antimony and bismuth also have therapeutic uses, and bismuth compounds are surprisingly benign for a heavy metal. This makes bismuth, especially, an attractive though underexplored option for the design of functional organometallic chemistry. Antimony-based materials show the most promise with demonstrated applications in the area of sensing and small molecule capture. The chapter discusses Lewis acidic antimony and bismuth compounds with applications in anion binding and chemical sensing. It also describes the use of antimony and bismuth compounds for the capture and activation of small molecules, especially O2 and CO2. Finally, the chapter touches on antimony- and bismuth-containing conjugated dyes and materials, including luminescent materials.