Electrochemically driven luminescence in organometallic and inorganic systems

This chapter analyses the literature appeared within the decade that follows the publication of M. Richter’s exhaustive chapter dedicated to metal chelates in the comprehensive ECL monograph edited by A. J. Bard in 2004. In this chapter, we have attempted to cover, although somehow selectively, the published work on the application of metal chelates in ECL, organizing the material, similarly to Richter’s choice, according to the main metal. Perhaps not surprisingly, among the metal chelate systems, Ru(bpy)32+ (bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine) has still been, over the last decade, the main star in the ECL sky as previously, in view in particular of its outstanding role in bioanalytical research and commercial applications. Nonetheless, the importance of other coordination and organometallic systems, especially those based on iridium, has grown in the recent research literature because of their photophysical and electrochemical properties that may offer great advantages in the technical development of ECL. A variety of reviews pertaining to particular aspects of metal chelates application in ECL, in particular for (bio)analytical purposes but also covering many other aspects of this fascinating area, are available to which the reader is directed for further information.