Structural and photophysical characterization of gold(I) complexes bearing naphthyl chromophores

We prepared two chlorido-gold(I) complexes of the type L–Au–Cl bearing a naphthyl moiety: Complex 1 with L=tris-1-naphthyl-phosphine shows standard linear coordination without further aggregation in the solid state. Complex 2 with L=2-naphthyl-isonitrile is engaged in a complex network of aurophilic and π–π interactions. The two complexes show similar luminescence behaviour in solution at room temperature with both intraligand fluorescence and phosphorescence. At 77K the emission spectra are dominated by intraligand phosphorescence, which is typical of gold complexes with extended π-chromophores.