Organogold Nonlinear Optical Chromophores

2,7-Disubstituted fluorenyl carbocycles have emerged as triplet-active molecules with microsecond or longer excited states (298 K) when bound to 5d transition metals. Work in these laboratories has demonstrated that gold sigma-organometallics of the fluorenyl scaffold undergo strong excited-state absorption through both singlet and triplet states. Structural influences on static optical properties and ultrafast dynamics will be described, as will results of modelling with time-dependent density-functional theory.