Ln(iii) complexes (Ln = Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy) with a chiral ligand containing 1,10-phenanthroline and (-)-menthol fragments: synthesis, structure, magnetic properties and photoluminescenceElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available. CCDC 1552505 and 1552506 for the ligand L and complex 3. For ESI and crystallographic data in CIF or other electronic format see DOI: 10.1039/c7dt01536d

• Main Authors: Larionov, Stanislav V, Bryleva, Yuliya A, Glinskaya, Ludmila A, Plyusnin, Victor F, Kupryakov, Arkady S, Agafontsev, Alexander M, Tkachev, Alexey V, Bogomyakov, Artem S, Piryazev, Dmitry A, Korolkov, Ilya V
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1477-9226; 1477-9234
• DOI: 10.1039/c7dt01536d

A series of lanthanide( iii ) complexes based on the new chiral ligand L, which contains 1,10-phenanthroline and (-)-menthol fragments, namely [LnL 2 (NO 3 ) 3 ] (Ln = Eu ( 1 ), Gd ( 2 ), Tb ( 3 ), Dy ( 4 )), have been synthesized and structurally characterized. Complexes 1-4 are isostructural and crystallize in the non-centrosymmetric space group P 4 1 2 1 2. The mononuclear complexes comprise a 10-coordinate Ln 3+ ion with two bidentate N,N-donor ligands (L) and three bidentate chelating nitrate groups. The magnetic properties of complexes 1-4 are determined mainly by the Ln 3+ ions. In the case of complexes 3 and 4 , significant anisotropy results in nonlinear field dependences of magnetization at low temperature. Complexes 1 , 3 and 4 exhibit metal-centered red (Eu 3+ ), green (Tb 3+ ) and yellow (Dy 3+ ) luminescence, respectively, whereas complex 2 displays blue ligand-based luminescence in the solid state at room temperature. The luminescence quantum yield for the solid samples increases in the order 4 < 2 3 < 1 . The europium( iii ) complex shows long luminescence lifetimes (up to 1750 μs) and a very high quantum yield ( f = 0.87); these make this compound promising for application in sensing and optoelectronics. Novel chiral luminescent Ln( iii ) complexes are reported.