Novel three-dimensional pillared-layer Ln(III)-Cu(I) coordination polymers featuring spindle-shaped heterometallic building units.

The hydrothermal reaction of rare earth oxide, CuO, 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylic acid, and 4,4'-bipyridine in the presence of H(3)PO(3) resulted in the formation of a new series of 3d-4f heterometallic coordination polymers Ln(pydc)(3)Cu(3)(bipy)(3).m(H(2)O) (Ln = Pr (1), Nd (2), m = 5; Ln = Sm (3), Eu (4), Gd (5), Tb (6), Er (7), Yb (8), m = 4; pydc = 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylate anion; bipy = 4,4'-bipyridine). Complexes 1-8 are isostructural and structurally characterized by elemental analysis, FT-IR spectroscopy, thermogravimetry-differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA), single-crystal X-ray diffraction, X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), and nitrogen adsorption/desorption techniques. The synthesis results show that the addition of H(3)PO(3) in the reaction plays an important role in the formation of the compounds. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that the heterometallic ions are first interconnected by mixing bridging ligands to produce a spindle-shaped heterometallic ring [Ln(6)(pydc)(6)Cu(12)(bipy)(6)], which is used as the second building unit (SBUs) and finally pillared by bridging bipy molecules to form the rare 3D pillared-layer porous Ln(III)-Cu(I) coordination polymers. Luminescence measurements made under excitation by UV rays reveal that Sm-Cu, Eu-Cu, and Tb-Cu compounds exhibit the characteristic emission bands of Sm(3+), Eu(3+), and Tb(3+) ions in the visible regions, respectively; near-infrared (NIR) emission bands from Nd(III) and Yb(III) ions can also be obtained in Nd-Cu and Yb-Cu compounds, respectively; while Pr-Cu, Gd-Cu, and Er-Cu compounds all display similar emission spectra of Cu(I) coordination compounds in the visible regions.