Square-planar /8 metal dithiolenes mixed-ligand complexes

Square-planar bis(dithiolene) complexes have also been the subject of theoretical investigations (43-46). For example, density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicated that the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) for Ni(S2C2H2)2 is primarily a ligand-based orbital comprising of four 3pz orbitals of sulfur, perpendicular to the molecular xy plane, and four 2p-orbitals of carbon with opposite phases. The lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) is a mix of ligand-metal orbitals, but still mostly of the ligand... 

With rich luminescent properties, long-lived CT excited states and a variety of bimolecular photochemical reaction pathways, the mixed-ligand square-planar diimine dithiolene complexes of d8 metal ions show great promise for solar-energy conversion, as luminescent probes or in photocatalytic applications. Complexes of this type have also received attention for the nonlinear optical properties, such as second harmonic generation, related to the MMLL CT excited state (14, 129). 

This chapter focuses on recent results concerning the class of square-planar rf metal-bis(dithiolene) or mixed ligand complexes, discussing their properties and applications as building blocks of molecular materials where the bulk properties are based on their component molecules interacting with each other at the supramolecular level. 

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