The emission spectrum of Zn(DIQ)(2) with DIQ = 5,7-diiodo-8-quinolinolate consists of an intraligand (IL) fluorescence at lambda(max) = 550 nm and a rather weak IL phosphorescence at lambda(max) = 804 nm. While the appearance of the phosphorescence under ambient conditions is certainly caused by the heavy atom effect of the iodine substituents their influence is smaller than might be expected. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.