Remarkable Effect of Iridium Cyclometalation on the Nonlinear Absorption Properties of a Quadrupolar Imine Ligand

A new type of dinuclear iridium complex, based on a quadrupolar Schiff base ligand, is synthesized and its structure fully characterized. Its linear and nonlinear spectroscopic properties are investigated, evidencing a strong contribution of the metal-to-ligand transitions not only to the linear absorption but also to the two- and three-photon absorption properties.