Lanthanide-directed synthesis of luminescent self-assembly supramolecular structures and mechanically bonded systems from acyclic coordinating organic ligands

• Published in: Chemical Society reviews 2016-06, Vol.45 (11), p.3244-3274
• Main Authors: Barry, Dawn E, Caffrey, David F, Gunnlaugsson, Thorfinnur
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bundles; Coordination compounds; Formations; Lanthanides; Ligands; Rare earth metals; Self assembly; Synthesis (chemistry)
• ISSN: 0306-0012; 1460-4744
• DOI: 10.1039/c6cs00116e

Herein some examples of the use of lanthanide ions (f-metal ions) to direct the synthesis of luminescent self-assembly systems (architectures) will be discussed. This area of lanthanide supramolecular chemistry is fast growing, thanks to the unique physical (magnetic and luminescent) and coordination properties of the lanthanides, which are often transferred to the resulting supermolecule. The emphasis herein will be on systems that are luminescent, and hence, generated by using either visibly emitting ions (such as Eu III , Tb III and Sm III ) or near infrared emitting ions (like Nd III , Yb III and Er III ), formed through the use of templating chemistry, by employing structurally simple ligands, possessing oxygen and nitrogen coordinating moieties. As the lanthanides have high coordination requirements, their use often allows for the formation of coordination compounds and supramolecular systems such as bundles, grids, helicates and interlocked molecules that are not synthetically accessible through the use of other commonly used templating ions such as transition metal ions. Hence, the use of the rare-earth metal ions can lead to the formation of unique and stable species in both solution and in the solid state, as well as functional and responsive structures. This review focuses on recent developments made in the area of lanthanide directed synthesis/formation of supramolecular self-assembly structures including the formation of complexes/bundles, helicates, MOFs and interlocked molecules.