Ligand (biochemistry)

Optics

Physics

Luminescence

Photoexcitation

Catalysis

Receptor

Organic chemistry

Excited state

Atomic physics

Chemistry

Materials science

Quantum efficiency

Carbene

Amide

Microsecond

Optoelectronics

Metal

Copper

Biochemistry

Photochemistry

Photoluminescence

Science

Helping copper glow Copper's abundance makes the metal an appealing candidate for luminescence applications. However, many copper complexes tend to decay nonradiatively after photoexcitation. A recently described exception involves a two-coordinate complex that sandwiches the metal between an amide ligand and a carbene ligand. Hamze et al. thoroughly explored this motif and measured a nearly perfect luminescence efficiency. They used this property to produce a prototype blue organic light-emitting diode. The photodynamics appeared largely ligand-centered, with the excited state attributed to copper-facilitated charge transfer from amide to carbene. Science , this issue p. 601

Eliminating nonradiative decay in Cu(I) emitters: &gt;99% quantum efficiency and microsecond lifetime

Eliminating nonradiative decay in Cu(I) emitters: &gt;99% quantum efficiency and microsecond lifetime

Eliminating nonradiative decay in Cu(I) emitters: >99% quantum efficiency and microsecond lifetime