Bimetallic liquid crystal blends based on structurally related 3d-metal coordination complexes

Hetero-bimetallic liquid crystalline materials, exhibiting a single Colhex mesophase, were obtained by simple chemical blending between two structurally-related Cu(II) and Zn(II) metallomesogens based on 1,10-phenanthroline and two chelating gallate ligands. Mesomorphous and optical properties were modified upon their relative respective proportions. This study highlights the numerous possibilities for the fabrication of new multifunctional polymetallic materials, with the possibility of tuning the properties and controlling supramolecular interactions between metal centres and corresponding synergistic effects.

Synthesis, Crystal Structures and Photoluminescent Properties of One-Dimensional Europium(III)- and Terbium(III)-Glutarate Coordination Polymers, and Their Applications for the Sensing of Fe3+ and Nitroaromatics

Two lanthanide–glutarate coordination polymers, viz. : {[Eu(C₅H₆O₄)(H₂O)₄]Cl}_n, (1) and [Tb(C₅H₇O₄)(C₅H₆O₄)(H₂O)₂]_n, (2) have been synthesized and characterized by IR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and X-ray crystallography. In 1, the Eu(III) ions are coordinated by four O atoms from two bidentate chelating carboxylate groups, one O atom from a bridging carboxylate group and four O atoms from water molecules adopting an EuO₉ distorted tri-capped trigonal prismatic coordination geometry. In 2, the Tb(III) ions are coordinated by six O atoms from three bidentate chelating carboxylates, one O atom from a bridging carboxylate and two O atoms from water molecules to generate distorted tri-capped trigonal prismatic TbO₉ polyhedron. In both compounds, the metal polyhedra share edges, producing centrosymmetric Ln₂O₂ diamonds, and are linked into [001] chains by bridging glutarate di-anions. The crystal structures are consolidated by O–H···O and O–H···Cl hydrogen bonds in 1, and O–H···O hydrogen bonds in 2. Compound 1 exhibits a red emission attributed to the ⁵D₀ → ⁷F_J (J = 1–4) transitions of the Eu(III) ion, whereas 2 displays green emission corresponding to the ⁵D₄ → ⁷F_J (J = 0–6) transitions of the Tb(III) ion. Both the compounds exhibit high sensitivity and selectivity for Fe³⁺ ions due to luminescence quenching compared with other metal ions, which include; Na⁺, Mg²⁺, Al³⁺, Cr³⁺, Mn²⁺, Fe²⁺, Co²⁺, Ni²⁺, Zn²⁺ and Cd²⁺. Compounds 1 and 2 also show high luminescence quenching sensitivity for 4-nitrophenol over the other aromatic and nitroaromatic compounds, namely; bromobenzene, 1,3-dimethylbenzene, nitrobenzene, 4-nitrotolune, 4-nitrophenol, 2,6-dinitrophenol and 2,4,6-trinitrophenol.