Cooperative supramolecular polymerization of phosphorescent alkynyl-gold(i)–isocyanide complexes

In this work, coil-rod-coil organogold(i) complexes have been successfully assembled into phosphorescent supramolecular polymers via the cooperative nucleation-elongation mechanism. Deeper insights into the supramolecular polymerization behaviors are achieved via solvent-dependent UV-Vis and CD spectroscopic measurements. As compared to the structurally similar organoplatinum(ii)-based systems, organogold(i) complexes display a stronger supramolecular polymerization tendency and higher resistance to solvent polarity change for the resulting assemblies. The phenomena are primarily ascribed to the low steric hindrance of the inner alkynyl-gold(i)-isocyanide rod unit.