Tri-luminescent carbene gold(I) acetylide complex

Tri-luminescent organometallic “carbene–gold(I)–acetylide” (CMAc) complex (<strong>Au1</strong>), based on N-heterocyclic carbene with quinoxaline backbone (^QuinNHC) and 4,7-diethynyl-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole, has been synthesized and characterized. The cyclic voltammetry and UV-vis spectroscopy support the energy gap of 2.36 eV for <strong>Au1</strong>, which is in line with the dominating major green emission. Complex <strong>Au1</strong> emit light at three different wavelengths 380 nm (3ns, UV-fluorescence), 502 nm (6 ns, green fluorescence) and 757 nm (10.5 μs, near-IR phosphorescence), which is highly promising for sensor applications. The photoluminescence quantum yield is ca. 3% in air.