Cobalt(III) Carbene Complex with an Electronic Excited-State Structure Similar to Cyclometalated Iridium(III) Compounds

Many organometallic iridium(III) complexes have photoactive excited states with mixed metal-to-ligand and intraligand charge transfer (MLCT/ILCT) character, which form the basis for numerous applications in photophysics and photochemistry. Cobalt(III) complexes with analogous MLCT excited-state properties seem to be unknown yet, despite the fact that iridium(III) and cobalt(III) can adopt identical low-spin d6 valence electron configurations due to their close chemical relationship. Using a rigid tridentate chelate ligand (LCNC), in which a central amido π-donor is flanked by two σ-donating N-heterocyclic carbene subunits, we obtained a robust homoleptic complex [Co(LCNC)2](PF6), featuring a photoactive excited state with substantial MLCT character. Compared to the vast majority of isoelectronic iron(II) complexes, the MLCT state of [Co(LCNC)2](PF6) is long-lived because it does not deactivate as efficiently into lower-lying metal-centered excited states; furthermore, it engages directly in photoinduced electron transfer reactions. The comparison with [Fe(LCNC)2](PF6), as well as structural, electrochemical, and UV-vis transient absorption studies, provides insight into new ligand design principles for first-row transition-metal complexes with photophysical and photochemical properties reminiscent of those known from the platinum group metals.