Synthesis and structural characterization of five new copper (I) complexes with 1,10-phenanthroline and 1,4-bis(diphenylphosphino)butane(dppb)

•Crystal structures and luminescence of five Cu(I) complexes were studied.•Complex 4 is of the infinite zigzag chain that forms by hydrogen bonds N⋯HO.•In complex 5, dppb acts as bridging ligand to form 1D supramolecular structure.•Different anions can regulate and control the emitting colors of complexes 1–5.

The mixture of copper(I) salts CuX (X = Cl, Br, SCN, CN, SO3CF3) and 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) reacts with 1,4-bis(diphenylphosphino)butane (dppb) to give dinuclear complexes [Cu2(dppb)(phen)2Cl2]⋅4DMF (1), [Cu2(dppb)(phen)2Br2]⋅DMF (2), [Cu2(dppb)(phen)2(SCN)2] (3) and two 1D chain complexes {[Cu2(dppb)(phen)2(CN)2(H2O)]}n⋅nH2O (4) and {[Cu2(dppb)(phen)2](SO3CF3)2}n (5), respectively. The structures of these compounds were investigated by elemental analysis, single-crystal X-ray diffraction, electronic absorption spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, 1H NMR and 31P NMR spectroscopy. Each Cu atom adopts a distorted tetrahedral configuration, and all the complexes are considerably air-stable in solid state and in solution. Detailed NMR studies have been performed to disclose the behavior of the prepared copper(I) complexes in solution. All the five complexes are bright green and cyan luminophores in a solid state at room temperature. This makes them potential candidates as cheap emitting materials for electroluminescent devices.

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