Photochemical Oxidation of Pt(IV)Me3(1,2-diimine) Thiolates to Luminescent Pt(IV) Sulfinates.

We report the formation of dinuclear complexes from, and photochemical oxidation of, (CH3)3-Pt(IV)(N^N) (N^N = 1,2-diimine derivatives) complexes of thiophenolate ligands to the analogous sulfinates (CH3)3Pt(N^N)(SO2Ph) and structural, spectroscopic, and theoretical studies of the latter revealing tunable photophysics depending upon the 1,2-diimine ligands. Electron-rich thiolate and conjugated 1,2-diimines encourage formation of thiolate-bridged dinuclear complexes; smaller 1,2-diimines or electron-poor thiolates favor mononuclear complexes. Photooxidation of the thiolate ligand yields hitherto unreported Pt(IV)-SO2R complexes, promoted by electron-deficient thiolates such as 4-nitrothiophenol, which exclusively forms the sulfinate complex. Such complexes exhibit expected absorptions due to π-π* ligand transitions of the 1,2-diimines mixed with spin-allowed singlet MLCT (d-π*) at relatively high energy (270-290 nm), as well as unexpected broad, lower energy absorptions between 360 and 490 nm. DFT data indicate that these low energy absorption bands result from excitation of Pt-S and Pt-C σ-bonding electrons to π* orbitals on sulfinate and 1,2-diimine, the latter of which gives rise to emission in the visible range.