Toward the single-molecule investigation of organometallic reaction mechanisms: Single-molecule imaging of fluorophore-tagged palladium(II) complexes

The single-molecule fluorescence microscopy imaging of individual palladium(II) complexes is reported and the requisite high-quantum-yield BODIPY fluorophore tags are synthesized and shown to act as spectators when bound to metal complexes. These combined experimental results lay the fundamental groundwork for studying organometallic reaction chemistry at the single-molecule level using fluorophore tags.