Magnetic and luminescent coordination networks based on imidazolium salts and lanthanides for sensitive ratiometric thermometry

Novel 2D isomorphic lanthanide complexes based on a bifunctional 5-(pyridin-3-yloxy)isophthalic acid: synthesis, structure, fluorescence and magnetic properties

The Tb(iii)-complex can be used as a multifunctional luminescent sensor presenting visual quenching responses towards acetone, Fe3+ and CrO42− in aqueous solution with high sensitivity and low detection limits.

N-Heterocyclic carbenes and their precursors in functionalised porous materials

Though N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) have emerged as diverse and powerful discrete functional molecules in pharmaceutics, nanotechnology, and catalysis over decades, the heterogenization of NHCs and their precursors for broader applications in porous materials, like metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), porous coordination polymers (PCPs), covalent-organic frameworks (COFs), porous organic polymers (POPs), and porous organometallic cages (POMCs) was not extensively studied until the last ten years. By de novo or post-synthetic modification (PSM) methods, myriads of NHCs and their precursors containing building blocks were designed and integrated into MOFs, PCPs, COFs, POPs and POMCs to form various structures and porosities. Functionalisation with NHCs and their precursors significantly expands the scope of the potential applications of porous materials by tuning the pore surface chemical/physical properties, providing active sites for binding guest molecules and substrates and realizing recyclability. In this review, we summarise and discuss the recent progress on the synthetic methods, structural features, and promising applications of NHCs and their precursors in functionalised porous materials. At the end, a brief perspective on the encouraging future prospects and challenges in this contemporary field is presented. This review will serve as a guide for researchers to design and synthesize more novel porous materials functionalised with NHCs and their precursors.

Synthesis, structure and magnetocaloric properties of a new two-dimensional gadolinium(III) coordination polymer based on azobenzene-2,2',3,3'-tetracarboxylic acid

A new Gd3+ coordination polymer (CP), namely, poly[diaqua[μ4-1'-carboxy-3,3'-(diazene-1,2-diyl)dibenzene-1,2,2'-tricarboxylato]gadolinium(III)], [Gd(C16H7N2O8)(H2O)2]n, (I), has been synthesized hydrothermally from Gd(NO3)3·6H2O and azobenzene-2,2',3,3'-tetracarboxylic acid (H4abtc). The target solid has been characterized by single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction, elemental analysis, IR spectroscopy and susceptibility measurements. CP (I) crystallizes in the monoclinic space group C2/c. The structure features a 4-connected topology in which Gd3+ ions are connected by carboxylate groups into a linear chain along the monoclinic symmetry direction. Adjacent one-dimensional aggregates are bridged by Habtc3- ligands to form a two-dimensional CP in the (10-1) plane. A very short hydrogen bond [O...O = 2.4393 (4) Å] links neighbouring layers into a three-dimensional network. A magnetic study revealed antiferromagnetic Gd...Gd coupling within the chain direction. CP (I) displays a significant magnetocaloric effect (MCE), with a maximum -ΔSm of 27.26 J kg-1 K-1 for ΔH = 7 T at 3.0 K. As the MCE in (I) exceeds that of the commercial magnetic refrigerant GGG (Gd3Ga5O12, -ΔSm = 24 J kg-1 K-1, ΔH = 30 kG), CP (I) can be regarded as a potential cryogenic material for low-temperature magnetic refrigeration.

Luminescent PMMA Films and PMMA@SiO2 Nanoparticles with Embedded Ln3+ Complexes for Highly Sensitive Optical Thermometers in the Physiological Temperature Range*

In recent years, luminescent materials doped with Ln³⁺ ions have attracted much attention for their application as optical thermometers based on both downshifting and upconversion processes. This study presents research done on the development of highly sensitive optical thermometers in the physiological temperature range based on poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) films doped with two series of visible Ln³⁺ complexes (Ln³⁺ =Tb³⁺ , Eu³⁺ , and Sm³⁺ ) and SiO₂ nanoparticles (NPs) coated with these PMMA films. The best performing PMMA film doped with Tb³⁺ and Eu³⁺ complexes was the PMMA[TbEuL₁ tppo]1 film (L₁ =4,4,4-trifluoro-1-phenyl-1,3-butadionate; tppo=triphenylphosphine oxide), which showed good temperature sensing of S_r =4.21 % K^-1 at 313 K, whereas for the PMMA films doped with Tb³⁺ and Sm³⁺ complexes the best performing was the PMMA[TbSmL₂ tppo]3 film (L₂ =4,4,4-trifluoro-1-(4-chlorophenyl)-1,3-butadionate), with S_r =3.64 % K^-1 at 313 K. Additionally, SiO₂ NPs coated with the best performing films from each of the series of PMMA films (Tb-Eu and Tb-Sm) and their temperature-sensing properties were studied in water, showing excellent performance in the physiological temperature range (PMMA[TbEuL₁ tppo]1@SiO₂ : S_r =3.84 % °C at 20 °C; PMMA[TbSmL₂ tppo]3@SiO₂ : S_r =3.27 % °C at 20 °C) and the toxicity of these nanoparticles on human cells was studied, showing that they were nontoxic.

New approach to increase the sensitivity of Tb-Eu-based luminescent thermometer

The formation of trimetallic terbium-europium-gadolinium complexes was proposed as an approach to increase the sensitivity of the corresponding terbium-europium complexes for temperature measurement due to the suppression of multiphotonic emission. This approach results in over a 2-fold increase of the sensitivity of Eu-Tb carboxylate, which reached 5.3% K-1 in the physiological range.

Luminescent and magnetic bifunctional coordination complex based on a chiral tartaric acid derivative and europium

A new mononuclear europium complex incorporating the (+)-di-p-toluoyl-D-tartaric acid (D-H2DTTA) ligand, namely, catena-poly[tris{μ2-3-carboxy-2,3-bis[(4-methylphenyl)carbonyloxy]propanoato}tris(methanol)europium(III)], [Eu(C20H17O8)3(CH3OH)3] n , (I), has been synthesized and characterized by IR spectroscopy, elemental analysis, powder X-ray diffraction and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The structure analysis indicates that complex (I) crystallizes in the trigonal space group R3 and exhibits an infinite one-dimensional chain structure, in which the Eu3+ ion is surrounded by six O atoms from six D-HDTTA− ligands and three O atoms from three coordinated methanol molecules, thus forming a tricapped trigonal prism geometry. The D-H2DTTA ligand is partially deprotonated and adopts a μ1,6-coordination mode via two carboxylate groups to link adjacent Eu3+ ions, affording an infinite one-dimensional propeller-shaped coordination polymer chain along the c axis, with an Eu...Eu distance of 7.622 (1) Å. Moreover, C—H...π interactions lead to the formation of helical chains running along the c axis and the whole structure displays a snowflake pattern in the ab plane. The circular dichroism spectrum confirms the chirality of complex (I). The solid-state photoluminescence properties were also investigated at room temperature and (I) exhibits characteristic red emission bands derived from the Eu3+ ion (CIE 0.63, 0.32), with a reasonably long lifetime of 0.394 ms, indicating effective energy transfer from the ligand to the metal centre. In addition, a magnetic investigation reveals single-ion magnetic behaviour. The spin-orbit coupling parameter (λ) between the ground and excited states is fitted to be 360 (2) cm−1 through Zeeman perturbation. Therefore, complex (I) may be regarded as a chiral optical-magneto bifunctional material.

Three chiral one-dimensional lanthanide–ditoluoyl-tartrate bifunctional polymers exhibiting luminescence and magnetic behaviors

Since Ln-CPs have excellent optical properties (higher color purity, longer fluorescence lifetime and higher quantum yield) and magnetic properties, it is of great significance to prepare dual magneto-optical materials based on Ln(iii). Herein, we obtained three versatile Ln-CPs, [Ln(HDTTA)₃(CH₃OH)₃]_n, derived from reactions of lanthanide salts (Ln = Tb 1, Dy 2, Ho 3) and a chiral and flexible ligand, namely, (+)-di-p-toluoyl-d-tartaric acid (d-H₂DTTA) in a methanol–water solution, at room temperature and pressure. The structures of these compounds have been characterized by single crystal and powder X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, elemental analyses and thermogravimetric analyses. Complexes 1–3 are isomorphic, crystallizing in the chiral trigonal R3 space group with the linkage of Ln³⁺ ions and featuring 1D propeller chain structures. The circular dichroism spectra confirm that the complexes maintain the chirality from the ligands. Furthermore, the luminescent and magnetic properties have been investigated, relying on intrinsic properties of the lanthanide ions. The photoluminescence measurements indicate that 1, 2 and 3 show strong green, white and blue emission bands with CIE chromaticity coordinates of (0.32, 0.56), (0.29, 0.26) and (0.21, 0.12), respectively. The decay lifetime curve of 1 shows the exponential decay with long lifetime of 1.169 ms and the relative quantum yield for 1 was 19.31%. In addition, the magnetic properties of complexes 1–3 have been investigated by measuring the magnetic susceptibility in the temperature range of 2–300 K. They are all dominated by spin–orbit coupling and ligand field perturbation, and the exchange coupling between Ln³⁺ ions is almost negligible. Therefore, complexes 1–3 are promising chiral, optical and magnetic multifunctional materials.

Self-assembly of three chiral one-dimensional Ln-CPs with luminescence and magnetic behaviors.