Heteroleptic bis(phthalocyaninato) europium(III) complexes fused with different numbers of 15-crown-5 moieties. Synthesis, spectroscopy, electrochemistry, and supramolecular structure.

A series of heteroleptic bis(phthalocyaninato) europium(III) complexes, namely, Eu(Pc)[Pc(15C5)] (2), Eu(Pc)[Pc(opp-15C5)2] (3), Eu(Pc)[Pc(adj-15C5)2] (4), Eu(Pc)[Pc(15C5)3] (5), and Eu(Pc)[Pc(15C5)4] (6) [Pc = unsubstituted phthalocyaninate; Pc(15C5) = 2,3-(15-crown-5)phthalocyaninate; Pc(opp-15C5)2 = 2,3,16,17-bis(15-crown-5)phthalocyaninate; Pc(adj-15C5)2 = 2,3,9,10-bis(15-crown-5)phthalocyaninate; Pc(15C5)3 = 2,3,9,10,16,17-tris(15-crown-5)phthalocyaninate, Pc(15C5)4 = 2,3,9,10,16,17,24,25-tetrakis(15-crown-5)phthalocyaninate], with one, two, three, and four 15-crown-5 voids attached at different positions of one of the two phthalocyaninato ligands in the double-decker molecules, have been devised and prepared by Eu(Pc)(acac)-induced (Hacac = acetylacetone) mixed cyclization of the two corresponding phthalonitriles in the presence of organic base 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene (DBU) in n-pentanol. For the purpose of comparative studies, homoleptic counterparts Eu(Pc)2 (1) and Eu[Pc(15C5)4]2 (7) have also been prepared. These sandwich double-decker complexes have been characterized by a wide range of spectroscopic methods in addition to elemental analysis. Their electrochemistry has also been studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The molecular structure of Eu(Pc)[Pc(15C5)4] (6) has been determined by X-ray diffraction analysis. Their supramolecular structure-formation properties, in particular for compounds 5 and 6 in the presence of potassium ions, have also been comparatively studied for the purpose of future functional investigation.