Circularly Polarized Luminescence from New Heteroleptic Eu(III) and Tb(III) Complexes

[Image: see text] The complexes [Eu(bpcd)(tta)], [Eu(bpcd)(Coum)], and [Tb(bpcd)(Coum)] [tta = 2-thenoyltrifluoroacetyl-acetonate, Coum = 3-acetyl-4-hydroxy-coumarin, and bpcd = N,N′-bis(2-pyridylmethyl)-trans-1,2-diaminocyclohexane-N,N′-diacetate] have been synthesized and characterized from photophysical and thermodynamic points of view. The optical and chiroptical properties of these complexes, such as the total luminescence, decay curves of the Ln(III) luminescence, electronic circular dichroism, and circularly polarized luminescence, have been investigated. Interestingly, the number of coordinated solvent (methanol) molecules is sensitive to the nature of the metal ion. This number, estimated by spectroscopy, is >1 for Eu(III)-based complexes and <1 for Tb(III)-based complexes. A possible explanation for this behavior is provided via the study of the minimum energy structure obtained by density functional theory (DFT) calculations on the model complexes of the diamagnetic Y(III) and La(III) counterparts [Y(bpcd)(tta)], [Y(bpcd)(Coum)], and [La(bpcd)(Coum)]. By time-dependent DFT calculations, estimation of donor–acceptor (D–A) distances and of the energy position of the S(1) and T(1) ligand excited states involved in the antenna effect was possible. These data are useful for rationalizing the different sensitization efficiencies (η(sens)) of the antennae toward Eu(III) and Tb(III). The tta ligand is an optimal antenna for sensitizing Eu(III) luminescence, while the Coum ligand sensitizes better Tb(III) luminescence {ϕ(ovl) = 55%; η(sens) ≥ 55% for the [Tb(bpcd)(Coum)] complex}. Finally, for the [Eu(bpcd)(tta)] complex, a sizable value of g(lum) (0.26) and a good quantum yield (26%) were measured.