Nonlinear Optical Properties of Molecular Gold Complexes

Recent advances in the structure, optical spectroscopy, and excited-state dynamics of amine-substituted gold(I) fluorenyls are described. Excited-state kinetic parameters are sensitive to the mode of attachment of gold(I) to fluorenyl (direct attachment, or through alkynyl or triazolyl spacers) and to the ancillary phosphine or carbene ligand on gold. Density-functional theory calculations indicate that the frontier orbitals are dominated by the fluorenyl carbocycle and amine substituent.