Multifunctional Helicene-Based Ytterbium Coordination Polymer Displaying Circularly Polarized Luminescence, Slow Magnetic Relaxation and Room Temperature Magneto-Chiral Dichroism

Strong NIR-II Magneto-Optical Activity of a Chiral Sm15Cu54 Cage

The magneto-optical response of chiral materials holds significant potential for applications in physics, chemistry, and biology. However, exploration of the near-infrared (NIR) magneto-optical response remains limited. Herein, we report the synthesis and strong NIR-II magneto-optical activity of three pairs of chiral 3d-4f clusters of R/S-Ln15Cu54 (Ln = Sm, Gd, and Dy). Structural analysis reveals that R/S-Ln15Cu54 features a triangular prism cage with C3 symmetry. Interestingly, magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) spectra exhibit remarkable magneto-optical response in the NIR-II region, driven by the f-f transition. The maximum g-factor of R/S-Sm15Cu54 reaches 5.5 × 10-3 T-1 around 1300-1450 nm, surpassing values associated with DyIII and CuII ions. This remarkable NIR-II magneto-optical activity may be attributed to strong magnetic-dipole-allowed f-f transitions and helix chirality of the structure. This work not only presents the largest Ln-Cu clusters to date but also demonstrate the key role of magnetic-dipole-allowed transitions on magneto-optical activity.

Circularly Polarized Luminescence from Pure and Eu-Doped Trigonal TbPO4·nH2O Nanocrystals

In this contribution, we describe the preparation, by means of a precipitation reaction from aqueous solution at 40 °C, and the structural characterization of nanocrystalline powders of trigonal Tb1-xEuxPO4·nH2O (with x = 0, 0.005, 0.01, 0.05, and 0.1; n tentatively assigned as 0.67) which crystallize in the two possible P3121 or P3221 enantiomorphic space groups. While the volume of the crystal lattice is not significantly affected by the Tb3+/Eu3+ substitution, the average crystallite size seems to depend on the Eu3+ dopant concentration and ranges from 13 to 30 nm. The desired handedness of the crystals has been induced by using, during the synthesis, one of the two possible enantiomers of tartaric acid (l or d). The analysis of the luminescence excitation and emission spectra, together with the decay kinetics of the 5D4 Tb3+ excited state, suggests the presence of a very efficient Tb3+ → Eu3+ energy transfer process in the Eu3+-doped orthophosphates. Upon excitation of Tb3+ ions at 368 nm, the enantiomorphic powders grown with l- or d-tartaric acid (i.e., l-TbPO4·0.67H2O/d-TbPO4·0.67H2O, l-Tb0.995Eu0.005PO4·0.67H2O/d-Tb0.995Eu0.005PO4·0.67H2O, and l-Tb0.9Eu0.1PO4·0.67H2O/d-Tb0.9Eu0.1PO4·0.67H2O) exhibited mirror circularly polarized luminescence signals in the visible spectral region (in the green and/or in the red).

Assembly of Homochiral Magneto-Optical Dy6 Triangular Clusters by Fixing Carbon Dioxide in the Air

A new hydrazone Schiff base bridging ligand (H2LSchiff (E)-N'-((1-hydroxynaphthalen-2-yl)methylene)pyrazine-2-carbohydrazide) and L/D-proline were used to construct a pair of homochiral Dy6 cluster complexes, [Dy6(CO3)(L-Pro)6(LSchiff)4(HLSchiff)2]·5DMA·2H2O (L-1, L-HPro = L-proline; DMA = N,N-dimethylacetamide) and [Dy6(CO3)(D-Pro)6(LSchiff)4(HLSchiff)2]·5DMA·2H2O (D-1, D-HPro = D-proline), which show a novel triangular Dy6 topology. Notably, the fixation of CO2 in the air formed a carbonato central bridge, playing a key role in assembling L-1/D-1. Magnetic measurements revealed that L-1/D-1 displays intramolecular ferromagnetic coupling and magnetic relaxation behaviours. Furthermore, L-1/D-1 shows a distinct magneto-optical Faraday effect and has a second harmonic generation (SHG) response (1.0 × KDP) at room temperature. The results show that the immobilization of CO2 provides a novel pathway for homochiral multifunctional 4f cluster complexes.

Temperature-dependent NIR-CPL spectra of chiral Yb(III) complexes

Chiral, enantiopure Yb(III) complexes exhibit circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) in the near infrared (NIR) wavelength region. This CPL is quantified by the dissymmetry factor (glum). The excited state 2F5/2 consists of six mJ' states degenerated in three Stark levels, due to the crystal-field splitting (CFS), which are populated in accordance with the Boltzmann distribution. Consequently, room temperature CPL spectra are the sum of various - either positive or negative - contributions, that are practically impossible to quantify. To address this issue, an advanced setup enabling CPL measurements over a broad temperature range (300 to 4 K) has been developed. The interrelation of CFS, glum and temperature was explored using a pair of enantiopure Yb(III) complexes, highlighting the individual contribution of each crystal-field sublevel to the overall CPL spectrum, as anticipated by simulations performed in the framework of multireference wave-functions. Hence, the CPL spectra of chiral lanthanide complexes were found to be indeed strongly temperature-dependent, as is the glum dissymmetry factor, as a consequence of the variation in thermal sublevel population.

Solvent modulation of the morphology of homochiral gadolinium coordination polymers and its impact on circularly polarized luminescence

Studying the effect of morphology on the circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) of chiral molecular materials is important for the development of CPL-active materials for applications. Herein, we report that the morphology of Gd(NO3)3/R-,S-AnempH2 [AnempH2 = (1-anthrylethylamino)methylphosphonic acid] assemblies can be controlled by solvent modulation to form spiral bundles Gd(R-,S-AnempH)3·2H2O (R-,S-1), crystals Gd(R-,S-AnempH)3·2H2O (R-,S-2) and spindle-shaped particles Gd(R-,S-AnempH)3·3H2O·0.5DMF (R-,S-3) with similar chain structures. Interestingly, R-,S-1 are CPL active and show the highest value of dissymmetric factor among the three pairs of enantiomers (|glum| = 2.1 × 10-3), which is 2.8 times larger than that of R-,S-2, while R-,S-3 are CPL inactive with |glum| ≈ 0. This work provides a new route to control the morphology of chiral coordination polymers and improve their CPL performance.

Ab initio investigations of circularly polarised luminescence in Samarium(III)-based complexes

The present study aims to gain insight into the circularly polarised luminescence (CPL) of lanthanide complexes through the angle of one of their elements, namely Samarium. The simulation of luminescent properties of Samarium(III) complexes remains a challenge for computational chemistry, considering the multiconfigurational character of the electronic structure, the importance of the spin-orbit coupling and the fact that its emissive level is high in energy and preceded by numerous states of various multiplicity. Herein, a methodology based on CASSCF/RASSI-SO calculations is exposed and applied to simulate the CPL properties of two different Samarium(III) complexes, presenting either a rigid or a flexible architecture around the centre ion.

Rare Earths-The Answer to Everything

Rare earths, scandium, yttrium, and the fifteen lanthanoids from lanthanum to lutetium, are classified as critical metals because of their ubiquity in daily life. They are present in magnets in cars, especially electric cars; green electricity generating systems and computers; in steel manufacturing; in glass and light emission materials especially for safety lighting and lasers; in exhaust emission catalysts and supports; catalysts in artificial rubber production; in agriculture and animal husbandry; in health and especially cancer diagnosis and treatment; and in a variety of materials and electronic products essential to modern living. They have the potential to replace toxic chromates for corrosion inhibition, in magnetic refrigeration, a variety of new materials, and their role in agriculture may expand. This review examines their role in sustainability, the environment, recycling, corrosion inhibition, crop production, animal feedstocks, catalysis, health, and materials, as well as considering future uses.

A Single-Enantiomer Emitter Enabled Superstructural Helix Inversion for Upconverting and Downshifting Luminescence with Bidirectional Circular Polarization

The helical twisting tendency of liquid crystals (LCs) is generally governed by the inherent configuration of the chiral emitter. Here, we introduce the multistage inversion of supramolecular chirality as well as circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) by manipulating the ratio of single enantiomeric emitters (R-PCP) to LC monomers (5CB). Increasing the content of R-PCP from 1 wt % to 3 wt % inverted the helix of LCs from left-handed to right-handed, accompanying a CPL sign changed from positive to negative. The biaxiality of chiral emitters, as well as the steric effect of chiral-chiral and chiral-achiral interaction, were identified as the reasons for helical sense inversion. Due to the strong helical twisting power, 4 wt % R-PCP drove the photonic band gap (PBG) of chiral LCs to match up with their emission range, leading to an inversion of the CPL again with a high dissymmetry factor (≈1.2). Directly adjusting the PBG using chiral emitters is seldom achieved in cholesteric LCs. On this basis, an achiral sensitizer PtTPBP was assembled into the helical superstructure. The generation of triplet-triplet annihilation-induced upconverted CPL from R-PCP and the downshifting CPL from PtTPBP with opposite rotation was achieved in a single chiral LC system by tuning the position of the PBG.

Novel stable ytterbium acetylacetonate-quinaldinate complexes as single-molecule magnets and surprisingly efficient luminophores

The first Yb complexes comprising a quinoline-2-carboxylate (quinaldinate, Q-) ligand, namely 1D-polymeric [Yb(acac)2(Q)]n (1, acac- is the acetylacetonate (pentane-2,4-dionate) anion) and mononuclear [Yb(acac)2(Q)(Phen)] (2, Phen is 1,10-phenanthroline), are reported. The bifunctionality of both complexes as field-induced single-molecule magnets (SMMs) and near IR luminophores has been revealed. The SMM properties of 1 and 2 have been discussed in terms of the geometry and composition of the coordination environment. Also, 1 is the first example of 1D-polymeric SMMs with the capped octahedral surrounding of Yb3+. The photoluminescence quantum yields (PLQYs) of 1 and 2 are 2 and 4%, respectively. The origins of this difference are discussed. Surprisingly, the PLQY value of 2 is high for compounds comprising a lot of C-H vibrational quenchers, being the highest one for reliably characterized Yb β-diketonate complexes, and surpassing those for complexes with a broad range of anionic ligands. In this respect, the role of the Phen ligand is to tune the coordination mode of Q- thereby decreasing the energy of coordinating C-O oscillators rather than to act as a typical antenna ligand. These results can give rise to an alternative route to elaborate efficient Yb-based luminophores via the substitution of the β-diketonate ligands controlled by the introduction of appropriate neutral ligands.

Two pairs of chiral YbIII enantiomers presenting distinct NIR luminescence and circularly polarized luminescence performances with giant differences in second-harmonic generation responses

By introducing enantiomerically pure mono-bidentate N-donor ligands (LR/LS) into Yb(btfa)3(H2O)2 and Yb(dbm)3(H2O), respectively, two pairs of chiral YbIII enantiomers, namely Yb(btfa)3LR/Yb(btfa)3LS (D-1/L-1) and [Yb(dbm)3LR]·[Yb(dbm)3(C2H5OH)]/[Yb(dbm)3LS]·[Yb(dbm)3(C2H5OH)] (D-2/L-2) were isolated, where btfa- = 3-benzoyl-1,1,1-trifluoroacetonate, dbm- = dibenzoylmethanate, and LR/LS = (-)/(+)-4,5-pinenepyridyl-2-pyrazine. D-1/L-1 possess mononuclear structures in which the YbIII ions are eight-coordinated, while D-2/L-2 show cocrystal structures containing Yb(dbm)3(LR/LS) and Yb(dbm)3(C2H5OH) moieties in which the two YbIII ions are eight and seven-coordinated, respectively. They not only feature different molecular structures but also present distinct linear and nonlinear optical performances. Chiral mononuclear D-1 has better near infrared photo-luminescence (NIR-PL) and circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) performances than chiral cocrystal D-2. More remarkably, D-1/L-1 show large second-harmonic generation (SHG) responses (up to 1.25/1.28 × KDP) 18/16 times those of D-2/L-2 (0.07/0.08 × KDP). In addition, D-2/L-2 represent the first examples of lanthanide cocrystal complexes with NIR-PL, NIR-CPL and SHG properties.

Weakly Self-Assembled [6]Helicenes: Circularly Polarized Light and Spin Filtering Properties

Self-assembling features, chiroptical activity, and spin filtering properties are reported for 2,15- and 4,13-disubstituted [6]helicenes decorated in their periphery with 3,4,5-tris(dodecyloxy)-N-(4-ethynylphenyl)benzamide moieties. The weak non-covalent interaction between these units conditions the corresponding circularly polarized luminescence and spin polarization. The self-assembly is overall weak for these [6]helicene derivatives that, despite the formation of H-bonding interactions between the amide groups present in the peripheral moieties, shows very similar chiroptical properties both in the monomeric or aggregated states. This effect could be explained by considering the steric effect that these groups could generate in the growing of the corresponding aggregate formed. Importantly, the self-assembling features also condition chiral induced spin selectivity (CISS effect), with experimental spin polarization (SP) values found between 35-40 % for both systems, as measured by magnetic-conducting atomic force microscopy (AFM) technique.

Single molecule magnet features in luminescent lanthanide coordination polymers with heptacoordinate Dy/Yb(III) ions as nodes

Two sets of 1D/2D lanthanide coordination polymers with formulas of Ln(oqa)3·2H2O [Hoqa = 2-(4-oxoquinolin-1(4H)-yl) acetic acid, Ln = Dy (1), Yb (2)] and Ln(oaa)2(HCOO)(H2O) [Hoaa = 2-(9-oxoacridin-10(9H)-yl) acetic acid, Ln = Dy (3), Yb (4)] have been synthesized and their physical properties were investigated. All four complexes are constructed from seven-coordinate lanthanide ions and corresponding organic linkers. The lanthanide ions in 1 and 2 adopt a pentagonal bipyramid coordination geometry, whereas the coordination geometry of lanthanide ions in 3 and 4 can be described as a capped octahedron. Slow magnetic relaxation behaviors were observed in these four products at a zero/non-zero static magnetic field. Complexes 1, 2 and 4 exhibit the characteristic emission of Ln(III) ions, whereas complex 3 shows ligand-based emission. Bright yellow light emission was also observed when a voltage was applied, demonstrating the potential of 1 for application in light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Compounds 3 and 4 are the first examples of lanthanide complexes based on Hoaa ligands.

Circularly polarized luminescence in the one-dimensional assembly of binaphtyl-based Yb(iii) single-molecule magnets

Lanthanide ions have attracted great interest owing to their optical and magnetic properties. Single-molecule magnet (SMM) behavior has been a fascinating science for thirty years. Moreover, chiral lanthanide complexes allow the observation of remarkable circularly polarized luminescence (CPL). However, the combination of both SMM and CPL behaviors in a single molecular system is very rare and deserves attention in the design of multifunctional materials. Four chiral one-dimensional coordination compounds involving 1,1'-Bi-2-naphtol (BINOL)-derived bisphosphate ligands and the Yb(iii) centre were synthesized and characterized by powder and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. All the Yb(iii)-based polymers displayed field-induced SMM behavior with magnetic relaxation occurring by applying Raman processes and near infrared CPL in the solid state.

Circularly Polarized Luminescence from New Heteroleptic Eu(III) and Tb(III) Complexes

The complexes [Eu(bpcd)(tta)], [Eu(bpcd)(Coum)], and [Tb(bpcd)(Coum)] [tta = 2-thenoyltrifluoroacetyl-acetonate, Coum = 3-acetyl-4-hydroxy-coumarin, and bpcd = N,N'-bis(2-pyridylmethyl)-trans-1,2-diaminocyclohexane-N,N'-diacetate] have been synthesized and characterized from photophysical and thermodynamic points of view. The optical and chiroptical properties of these complexes, such as the total luminescence, decay curves of the Ln(III) luminescence, electronic circular dichroism, and circularly polarized luminescence, have been investigated. Interestingly, the number of coordinated solvent (methanol) molecules is sensitive to the nature of the metal ion. This number, estimated by spectroscopy, is >1 for Eu(III)-based complexes and <1 for Tb(III)-based complexes. A possible explanation for this behavior is provided via the study of the minimum energy structure obtained by density functional theory (DFT) calculations on the model complexes of the diamagnetic Y(III) and La(III) counterparts [Y(bpcd)(tta)], [Y(bpcd)(Coum)], and [La(bpcd)(Coum)]. By time-dependent DFT calculations, estimation of donor-acceptor (D-A) distances and of the energy position of the S₁ and T₁ ligand excited states involved in the antenna effect was possible. These data are useful for rationalizing the different sensitization efficiencies (η_sens) of the antennae toward Eu(III) and Tb(III). The tta ligand is an optimal antenna for sensitizing Eu(III) luminescence, while the Coum ligand sensitizes better Tb(III) luminescence {ϕ_ovl = 55%; η_sens ≥ 55% for the [Tb(bpcd)(Coum)] complex}. Finally, for the [Eu(bpcd)(tta)] complex, a sizable value of g_lum (0.26) and a good quantum yield (26%) were measured.

Two Chiral YbIII Enantiomeric Pairs with Distinct Enantiomerically Pure N-Donor Ligands Presenting Significant Differences in Photoluminescence, Circularly Polarized Luminescence, and Second-Harmonic Generation

Using enantiomerically pure bidentate and tridentate N-donor ligands (¹L_R/¹L_S and ²L_R/²L_S) to replace two coordinated H₂O molecules of Yb(tta)₃(H₂O)₂, respectively, two eight- and nine-coordinated Yb^III enantiomeric pairs, namely, Yb(tta)₃¹L_R/Yb(tta)₃¹L_S (Yb-R-1/Yb-S-1) and [Yb(tta)₃²L_R]·CH₃CN/[Yb(tta)₃²L_S]·CH₃CN (Yb-R-2/Yb-S-2), were isolated, in which Htta = 2-thenoyltrifluoroacetone, ¹L_R/¹L_S = (-)/(+)-4,5-pinene-2,2'-bipyridine, and ²L_R/²L_S = (-)/(+)-2,6-bis(4',5'-pinene-2'-pyridyl)pyridine. Interestingly, they not only present distinct degrees of chirality but also show large differences in near-infrared (NIR) photoluminescence (PL), circularly polarized luminescence (CPL), and second-harmonic generation (SHG). Eight-coordinated Yb-R-1 with an asymmetric bidentate ¹L_R ligand has a high NIR-PL quantum yield (1.26%) and a long decay lifetime (20 μs) at room temperature, being more than two times those (0.48%, 8 μs) of nine-coordinated Yb-R-2 with a C₂-symmetric tridentate ²L_R ligand. In addition, Yb-R-1 displays an efficient CPL with a luminescence dissymmetry factor g_lum = 0.077, being 4 × Yb-R-2 (0.018). In particular, Yb-R-1 presents a strong SHG response (0.8 × KDP), which is 8 × Yb-R-2 (0.1 × KDP). More remarkably, the precursor Yb(tta)₃(H₂O)₂ exhibits a strong third-harmonic generation (THG) response (41 × α-SiO₂), while the introduction of chiral N-donors results in the switching of THG to SHG. Our interesting findings provide new insights into both the functional regulation and switching in multifunctional lanthanide molecular materials.