Light-emitting iridium(<scp>iii</scp>) and ruthenium(<scp>ii</scp>) polypyridyl complexes containing quadruple hydrogen-bonding moieties

A novel compound containing both a 2,2'-bipyridine as well as a 2-ureido-4[1H]-ureidopyrimidinone supramolecular moiety (3) has been synthesised and fully characterized by 1H-NMR, MALDI-TOFMS, UV-vis and IR spectroscopy. Subsequent coordination to iridium and ruthenium polypyridyl precursors allowed the formation of iridium(III) and ruthenium(II) polypyridyl dimers (5 and 7) assembled via quadruple hydrogen-bonding as well as metal coordination interactions. The syntheses and complete characterization of these materials by means of two-dimensional NMR techniques (1H-1H COSY and 1H-1H DOSY) as well as IR and MALDI-TOFMS are described in detail. Comparative studies of the optical properties of the luminescent model complexes (5' and '7) and the dimer species (5 and 7) are also illustrated. In addition, good processability of the materials has been demonstrated by inkjet printing leading to thin films revealing their potential for light-emitting devices.