Iridium Complexes Containing Bis(imidazoline thione) and Bis(imidazoline selone) Ligands for Visible-Light-Induced Oxidative Coupling of Benzylamines to Imines

Abstract

Novel iridium(III) complexes containing bis(N-heterocyclic carbene), bis(imidazoline thione) L2, and bis(imidazoline selone) L3 were prepared. The iridium complexes bearing L2 and L3 showed the significant absorption of visible light with maximum intensity at ∼460 nm. Bis(2-(2′-benzothienyl)pyridinato)iridium(III) complexes (Ir-6) with L3 showed excellent ability as a photosensitizer of visible light. Under blue LED irradiation with maximum emission at 460 nm, 0.25 mol % Ir-6 showed 94% conversion of benzylamine for 5 h at room temperature. Through mechanistic studies, it was suggested that the photoinduced oxidative coupling of benzylamine by Ir-6 follows a singlet oxygen pathway. The excellent performance of Ir-6 originated from the efficient visible light absorption at 460 nm and the enhanced triplet state due to the heavy-atom effect of L3. This work shows that bis(imidazoline thione) and bis(imidazoline selone) can be efficient ligands for tuning the optical properties of iridium(III) complexes.