DFT and TD-DFT Calculations on the Electronic Structures and Spectroscopic Properties of Cyclometalated Platinum(II) Complexes

The electronic structures and spectroscopic properties of the three tridentate cyclometalated Pt(II) complexes Pt(N/\N/\C)C(triple bond)CPh (N/\N/\CH = 6-phenyl-2,2'-bipyridine) (1), Pt(N/\N/\S)C(triple bond)CPh (N/\N/\SH = 6-thienyl-2,2'-bipyridine) (2), and Pt(N/\N/\O)C(triple bond)CPh (N/\N/\OH = 6-furyl-2,2'-bipyridine) (3) were investigated theoretically using the density functional theory (DFT) method. The geometric structures of the complexes in the ground and excited states were explored at the B3LYP and UB3LYP levels, respectively. The absorption and emission spectra of the complexes in CH2Cl2 and CH3CN solutions were calculated by time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) with the PCM solvent model. The calculated energies of the lowest singlet state and lowest triplet state in the three complexes are in good agreement with the results of experimental absorption and luminescence studies. All of the lowest-lying transitions were categorized as LLCT combined with MLCT transitions. The 623-nm emission of 1 from the 3A' --1A' transition was assigned as 3LLCT and 3MLCT transitions, whereas the 657- and 681-nm emissions of 2 and 3, respectively, were attributed to 3ILCT perturbed by 3MLCT transitions. NLO response calculations revealed that the nonzero values of the static first hyperpolarizability (beta0) for 1-3 are greatly enhanced through the introduction of the metal Pt(II) into the cyclometalated ligands, an effect that is determined by MLCT and LLCT transitions.