New Class of Gold-based Gelators

New Class of Gold-based Gelators

Author: Sarah Millar

Vivian Yam and co-workers, University of Hong Kong, China, have developed the first example of alkynylgold(III) complexes containing dianionic N N N pincer ligands. The ligands are derived from 2,6-bis(benzimidazol-2′-yl)pyridine (H2bzimpy) and the complexes show low-energy absorption bands at 378–466 nm, which were assigned as metal-perturbed π–π* intraligand transitions of the bzimpy2− ligands. One of the complexes was also found to show gelation properties, driven by π–π and hydrophobic–hydrophobic interactions.

This sol–gel transition means complexes of this type are potential candidates for applications such as sensors for micro-environmental changes. This class of gold(III) alkynyls may also open up new opportunities for applications in other fields, such as in catalysis, as the bzimpy2− ligand opens up interesting possibilities by being able to incorporate different functional groups.


Leave a Reply

Kindly review our community guidelines before leaving a comment.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *