The key chemical characteristic of cerium is its ability to cycle between trivalent and tetravalent redox states. This facile redox chemistry is a unique attribute among the rare earths that is exploited broadly in materials- and synthetic chemistry. In the coordination chemistry of cerium, work from our group has recently shown the sensitivity of the cerium(IV/III) redox couple to the type of crystal field present at the cation. In the next phase of our work we have begun leveraging these observations toward coupling cerium redox processes with external stimuli, namely light, based on the characteristic electronic structure features of the element. Results on a new class of luminescent cerium complexes with quantum yields up to ~50% and a related class of photosensitizers will be presented.

Manipulation of the electronic structures of cerium complexes toward the development of a new class of photosensitizers

249th National Meeting (2015)

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