Two iodoargentate hybrids: syntheses, crystal structures, photocurrent responses and theoretical studies

In recent years, organic-inorganic hybrid iodoargentates have suffered extensive research attention due to their rich structures and unique optical and semiconductor properties. In this article, using 4,4'-dbbpy (4,4'-dbbpy = 4,4'-dibromo-2,2-bipyridine) and 5,5'-dbbpy (5,5'-dbbpy = 5,5'-dibromo-2,2-bipyridine) ligands as structural modifiers, two new iodoargentate hybrids, namely [Ni(4,4'-dbbpy)3]AgI3 (1) and [Ni(5,5'-dbbpy)3]Ag2I4 (2) have been successfully constructed, which are then structurally, optically and theoretically studied. Compounds 1 and 2 have optical band gaps at 2.45 and 2.56 eV, displaying visible light responding photocurrent intensities of 0.26 and 0.47 mu A center dot cm-2, respectively. Additionally, the Hirshfeld surface analyses and density of states have also been investigated.