A Photostable 1D Ruthenium−Zinc Coordination Polymer as a Multimetallic Building Block for Light Harvesting Systems

Abstract

A luminescent ruthenium complex bearing two 2,6-di(quinolin-8-yl)-pyridine carboxylic acid (dqpCOOH) ligands has been successfully synthesised and fully characterised. The new metalloligand has been coordinated to zinc ions through the terminal carboxylate groups using a one-step solvothermal method, to give a multimetallic photoactive 1D coordination polymer, Ru−(dqpCOO)−Zn−(OOCH)2. Through use of X-ray crystallography, advanced microscopy techniques as well as photophysical studies, we have extensively characterised the coordination polymer. The optical properties of the ruthenium complex and corresponding coordination polymer show that the material experiences a dramatic increase in photostability compared to the free parent metalloligand, in solution. Electrochemical measurements of the coordination polymer also confirm the RuII/RuIII redox couple is maintained in the polymeric network. The development of this material gives a new strategy in the design of novel photoactive materials as multimetallic building blocks for their use in light-based applications.