Luminescence Investigation of Samarium(III)/Dicyanoaurate(I)-based Coordination Networks with and without Aurophilic Interactions

Lanthanide-containing coordination polymers are interesting optical materials with a wide range of potential applications. In this paper we report on the detailed photophysical properties of aurophilic and nonaurophilic systems composed of Au(CN) 2 - and Sm(III) ions. The compounds were probed in the solid state using low-temperature luminescence spectroscopy. The luminescence lifetimes and quantum yields for both systems were obtained and the possibility of energy transfer between Sm(III) and Au(I) was investigated. Excited state properties of the systems were further characterized using DFT calculations. In the nonaurophilic case we observe energy transfer between Sm(III) and Au(I) ions, while in the aurophilic case energy transfer occurs between Au(I) ions.