TY - JOUR A1 - Wang, Cui A1 - Otto, S. A1 - Dorn, M. A1 - Kreidt, E. A1 - Lebon, J. A1 - Sršan, L. A1 - Di Martino-Fumo, P. A1 - Gerhards, M. A1 - Resch-Genger, Ute A1 - Seitz, M. A1 - Heinze, K. T1 - Deuterated molecular ruby with record luminescence quantum yield N2 - The recently reported luminescent chromium(III) complex 13+ ([Cr(ddpd)2]3+; ddpd=N,N’-dimethyl-N,N’-dipyridine-2-yl-pyridine-2,6-diamine) shows exceptionally strong near-IR emission at 775 nm in water under ambient conditions (F=11%) with a microsecond lifetime as the ligand design in 13+ effectively eliminates non-radiative decay pathways, such as photosubstitution, back-intersystem crossing, and trigonal twists. In the absence of energy acceptors, such as dioxygen, the remaining decay pathways are energy transfer to high energy solvent and ligand oscillators, namely OH and CH stretching vibrations. Selective deuteration of the solvents and the ddpd ligands probes the efficiency of these oscillators in the excited state deactivation. Addressing these energytransfer pathways in the first and second coordination sphere furnishes a record 30% quantum yield and a 2.3 millisecond lifetime for a metal complex with an earth-abundant metal ion in solution at room temperature. The combined fundamental insights will pave the way for selective design strategies in the field of luminescent complexes with earth-abundant metal ions. KW - Record luminescence quantum yield KW - Phorsphorescence KW - Cr-complex KW - Lifetime PY - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/ange.201711350 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201711350 SN - 1521-3773 VL - 57 IS - 4 SP - 1112 EP - 1116 PB - Wiley-VCH Verlag & Co. KGaA CY - Weinheim AN - OPUS4-45085 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -