Synergistic luminescence enhancement of a pyridyl-substituted triarylmethyl radical based on fluorine substitution and coordination to gold

A rational molecular design for open-shell molecules to enhance their luminescence efficiency was developed. Introduction of fluorine atoms and coordination of gold(i) to PyBTM, a highly stable fluorescent radical containing a pyridyl moiety, synergistically contributed to yield ten times increase of its fluorescence quantum yield (2 → 20%).