Winald Kitzmann: A stable Molybdenum Carbonyl Complex for Upcoversion and Photocatalysis

Molybdenum(0) complexes are promising candidates for sustainable photo-applications. Complexes of the type Mo(CO)4(N^N) have been known for a long time, but show only poor quantum yields (<0.01 %) and low stability. Recent studies involve sophisticated multi-dentate isonitrile ligands. However, these require elaborate multi-step syntheses. Here, I present a stable molybdenum(0) carbonyl complex with strong red emission and excited state lifetimes of several 100 ns in solution at room temperature. In addition to its thorough characterization, I will discuss first applications of this complex such as photon upconversion and photocatalysis.