Ionic transition metal complexes (iTMCs) often suffer from low photoluminescence quantum yield, especially in the red to near‐infrared spectral region. Rational molecular design strategies unlock recovering the emission features efficiently. A potential solution is offered by bimetallic complexes, which are rapidly emerging as a valid and attractive class of emitters. In this work, the yet unexplored electrochemiluminescence (ECL) properties of a series of heterobimetallic complexes of general structure Ir ^III ‐M ^I are investigated, where the formally neutral cyclometalated iridium complex provides efficient photo‐ and electro‐active properties to the molecular emitters. Whereas bulky M ^I (gold or copper) metalloligand increases structural rigidity and chemical stability of the architecture while enabling larger values for the radiative rate constant. The Ir ^III ‐M ^I shows highly efficient red ECL at λ _{em , max} = 600 nm, which is stable in a wider range of applied potential. The activation is triggered at 0.45–0.65 V, ca. 0.3–0.5 V lower than that of tris ‐(2,2′‐bipyridyl) ruthenium(II) complex, [Ru(bpy) ₃ ] ²⁺ . Remarkably, the ECL quantum yield relative to [Ru(bpy) ₃ ] ²⁺ is up to six‐fold higher, thus positioning this new series of iTMCs amongst the brightest ECL‐active emitters to date and possibly offering a platform to develop novel and even more efficient ECL probes for biosensing and bioimaging applications.

Cerium-doped titania nanoflowers are obtained by hydrothermal synthesis, with different amounts of cerium (0.3, 0.5, and 1.0 at%). Both undoped nanoflowers (TNF) and Ce-doped TNF (Cex) are tested as photocatalysts in the degradation of the target pollutant (metronidazole) under simulated solar light. The samples are rutile polymorphs with high crystallinity and present a nanoflower-like morphology of about 1 µm in diameter and are made up of nanoscale petals (in the range of 100–300 nm). EDX spectroscopy was coupled with SEM and performed on the Ce-doped samples to determine the elemental composition of the catalysts and the Ce distribution in each sample. Optical and electronic spectroscopies reveal that Ce loading narrows the band gap from 3.0 to 2.8 eV, extending light absorption into the visible range of the spectrum and thus enhancing the photocatalytic activity. The best sample, Ce1, achieved 67% degradation of metronidazole after 360 min under solar irradiation at pH 4, compared to bare TNF, which reached 35%. Reusability tests confirm the chemical stability and photocatalytic efficiency of Ce1 over three cycles, and free-radical trapping experiments confirmed ·O₂⁻ and ·OH as major active species in metronidazole degradation. This study highlights the synergistic impact of morphology and doping on solar-driven organic pollutant degradation.

Bimetallic complexes are rapidly emerging as a valid and attractive class of emitters. In this presentation, we will describe a recent work concerning the yet unexplored electrochemiluminescence (ECL) properties of a series of heterobimetallic complexes of general structure Ir^III-M^I belonging to the class of ionic transition metal complexes (iTMCs). In the Ir^III-M^I series, the formally neutral cyclometalated iridium complex provides efficient photo- and electro-active properties to the molecular emitters. Whereas bulky M^I(gold or copper) metalloligand increases structural rigidity and chemical stability of the architecture, while enabling larger values for the radiative rate constant. A highly efficient ECL in the red region of the visible spectrum ( = 600 nm) can be achieved, which is stable in a wider range of applied potential. Moreover, the potential required to trigger ECL is much lower (~0.3-0.5 V) than that of the benchmark tris(2,2’-bipyridine)rutheniu(II), [Ru(bpy)₃]²⁺. Remarkably, the ECL quantum yield relative to [Ru(bpy)₃]²⁺ is up to six-fold higher, thus positioning this new heterobimetallic complexes amongst the brightest ECL-active emitters to date and possibly offering a platform onto which developing novel and even more efficient ECL probes for biosensing and bioimaging applications.