1,3-Diketone Calix[4]arene Derivatives—A New Type of Versatile Ligands for Metal Complexes and Nanoparticles

The present review is aimed at highlighting outlooks for cyclophanic 1,3-diketones as a new type of versatile ligands and building blocks of the nanomaterial for sensing and bioimaging. Thus, the main synthetic routes for achieving the structural diversity of cyclophanic 1,3-diketones are discussed. The structural diversity is demonstrated by variation of both cyclophanic backbones (calix[4]arene, calix[4]resorcinarene and thiacalix[4]arene) and embedding of different substituents onto lower or upper macrocyclic rims. The structural features of the cyclophanic 1,3-diketones are correlated with their ability to form lanthanide complexes exhibiting both lanthanide-centered luminescence and magnetic relaxivity parameters convenient for contrast effect in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The revealed structure–property relationships and the applicability of facile one-pot transformation of the complexes to hydrophilic nanoparticles demonstrates the advantages of 1,3-diketone calix[4]arene ligands and their complexes in developing of nanomaterials for sensing and bioimaging.     

Luminescent lanthanide coordination polymers with transformative energy transfer processes for physical and chemical sensing applications

The photophysical process of lanthanide(III) ion is based on the 4f-4f transition, which is the Laporte forbidden with narrow emission band and long emission lifetime. The 4f-4f emission process is affected by introducing aromatic organic ligands. In this review, recent progress of one-, two-, and three-dimensional polymer-typed lanthanide complexes, luminescent lanthanide coordination polymers, are focused for physical and chemical sensing applications. Their changeable luminescence depended on the physical and chemical environments come from the energy transfer between lanthanide(III) ions and aromatic organic ligands. The characteristic physical (temperature, pressure, pH and mechanical force) and chemical (adsorption of metal ions and molecules) sensitive luminescence of lanthanide coordination polymers are useful for future sensing applications.     

pH responsive Eu(III)-phenanthroline supramolecular conjugate: novel "off-on-off" luminescent signaling in the physiological pH range

The formation of luminescent supramolecular ternary complexes in water: delayed luminescence sensing of aromatic carboxylates using coordinated unsaturated cationic heptadenatate lanthanide ion complexes.     

Efficient sensitization of lanthanide luminescence by tetrazole-based polydentate ligands

Tetrazolate groups have been included by a convenient synthetic route in diverse ligand topologies, which have allowed the incorporation of lanthanide ions into highly luminescent double- and triple-helical complexes, demonstrating their potential for the expansion of lanthanide chemistry and the development of lanthanide-based applications.     

Specific recognition of chiral amino alcohols via lanthanide coordination chemistry: structural optimization of lanthanide tris(beta-diketonates) toward effective circular dichroism/fluorescence probing

Lanthanide tris(beta-diketonates) formed stable, 1:1 highly coordinated complexes with amino alcohols, and the resulting complexes exhibited large enhanced fluorescence and intense induced circular dichroism (CD) signals. The stability constants of the highly coordinated complexes were determined for various combinations of lanthanide centers, beta-diketonate ligands, and organic substrates. These revealed that amino alcohol coordinated with the lanthanide center much more strongly than monoamine, monoalcohol, or diol derivative. On the basis of the highly coordinated complexation, several lanthanide tris(beta-diketonates) acted as CD/fluorescence probes specific for amino alcohols. Tris(6,6,7,7,8,8,8-heptafluoro-2,2-dimethyl-3,5-octadionato)europium(III) showed enhanced fluorescence in the presence of amino alcohols, while the corresponding ytterbium complex exhibited chirality-dependent CD signals for amino alcohols. In particular, the observed CD spectral profiles related well with the absolute configuration and optical purity of the bound amino alcohol, indicating that the structural optimization of lanthanide tris(beta-diketonates) offered specific sensing of amino alcohols and precise determination of their enantiomer excess percentages.     

Lanthanide-mediated supramolecular cages and host-guest interactions

The structure and thermodynamic properties of lanthanide complexes with a new tripodal ligand L2 have been elucidated using different physicochemical methods. At stoichiometric ratios, the tetrahedral three-dimensional complexes with lanthanide cations are formed in acetonitrile with good stabilities. Despite minor structural changes comparing to previously investigated tripodal ligands, the resulting assembly exhibits different features revealed with the crystal structure of [Eu(4)L2(4)](OH)(ClO(4))(11) (orthorhombic, Pbcn). Interestingly, the highly charged edifice contains an inner cage encapsulating a perchlorate anion. Such lanthanide mediated cage-like assemblies are rare, and may be of interest for different sensing applications. Indeed, the anionic guest can be exchanged with different anions. The related host-guest equilibria were investigated with NMR techniques. Various aspects of these reactions are qualitatively discussed.     

稀土铕、铽配合物在温度发光传感领域的研究进展

稀土发光配合物材料基于其独特的4f-4f电子跃迁表现出优异的发光性能,特别是铕和铽配合物材料,发光波长在可见光区范围内,发射谱带狭窄且尖锐(半峰宽通常小于10 nm),非常适合应用于显示设备和传感装置.同时,具备温度依赖发光性能的铕和铽配合物能够实现高灵敏度、高效的温度传感过程,使其有望用于流体动力学、航空航天、环境工...     

Selective self-assembly of hexameric homo- and heteropolymetallic lanthanide wheels: synthesis, structure, and photophysical studies

A rational approach to the formation of pure heteropolymetallic lanthanide complexes that uses a two-step assembly strategy and exploits the different size requirements of the two metals included in the final structure is described. The investigation of the assembly of [LnL2](Otf) (L = 2,2':6',2' '-terpyridine-6-carboxylate) complexes into hexametallic rings hosting an additional hexacoordinated lanthanide cation was crucial for the development of this strategy. The formation and size of the cyclic assembly are controlled by the ionic radius and by the coordination number of the lanthanides. The rather high luminescence quantum yield of the heptaeuropium complex (25%) indicates that the ring structure is well adapted to include highly luminescent lanthanide complexes in nanosized architecture. The use of a stepwise synthetic strategy leads to the selective assembly of large heteropolymetallic rings. The addition of a smaller lanthanide ion to the [EuL2](Otf) complex in anhydrous acetonitrile leads selectively to heterometallic species with the Eu ions located on the peripheral sites and the smaller ion occupying only the central site. The high selectivity is the result of the different size requirements of the two metal sites present in the cyclic structure. The heterometallic structure of the isolated [Lu subset (EuL2)6](Otf)9 complex was confirmed by X-ray diffraction and by high resolution solid-state photophysical studies. The described synthetic approach allowed us to obtain the first example of selective assembly of two different lanthanide ions in a large polymetallic structure characterized in solution and in the solid state and will make the isolation of planned dimetallic combinations presenting different lanthanide emitters in the peripheral sites possible.     

Surface Modification and Functionalization of Microporous Hybrid Material for Luminescence Sensing

We report here on the preparation of novel luminescent core‐shell material by initial coating with polyelectrolytes and subsequent with a silica shell on the lanthanide complexes loaded zeolite L microcrystals. Lanthanide complexes loaded zeolite L was prepared by insertion of 2‐thenoyltrifluoroacetone (TTA) into the nanochannels of zeolite crystals by gas diffusion of TTA to Eu³⁺ exchanged zeolite L, coating a silica shell on the lanthanide complexes loaded zeolite L resulted to the novel luminescent core‐shell material. The luminescent core‐shell material was further functionalized with silylated terbium(III) complex and the obtained material was used as the luminescence sensing of dipicolinic acid (DPA), which is a major constituent of many pathogenic spore‐forming bacteria.     

Water-induced luminescence improvement in a lanthanide β-diketone complex for monitoring water purity

Water-caused luminescence quenching is a well-known and intractable issue for luminescence lanthanide complexes, greatly confining their broad application as sensing and displaying devices in water system.Herein, an anionic and coordination-saturated lanthanide complex with a nanosheet-like structure has been prepared. It exhibits excellent photophysical properties both in solid state and in aqueous suspension. Noteworthily, a 13% improvement for sensitization efficiency from organic ligand to c...     

Solid Phase Catalytic Oxidation of Alcohols by Polymer Supported Rare Earth Catalysts

Oxidation of alcohols to the corresponding aldehydes or ketones is one of the most fundamental reactions in organic chemistry [1,2]. Some of the products of the oxidation exhibit an important role in the organic synthesis as well as pharmaceutical synthesis. In most reactions, the lanthanide complexes show satisfied catalytic activities for some compounds. Furthermore, there has been increasing interest in the lanthanide complexes and several reports have appeared in the literature [3, 4]. But the exploitation of these complexes for the oxidation of some organic substrates has been limited. Here we reported a method for the preparation and the catalytic properties as well as the recycling of lanthanide complexes in oxidation of alcohols.The synthetic procedure for the polymer supported lanthanide complexes is shown as following(scheme 1):●-NH2+CICH2COOH(C2Hs)3N→●-NHCH2COOHM=Ce(Ⅲ), Tb(Ⅲ), Sm(Ⅲ)scheme 1The oxidation of benzyl alcohol was carried out in the presence of iodosylbenzene by the polymer supported Ce(Ⅲ), Tb(Ⅲ) and Sm(Ⅲ) catalysts at 80℃ for 4.0h, the yields of benz-aldehyde are as following (table 1):Table 1 Oxidation of benzyl alcohol with the supported catalysts**Reaction condition: benzyl alcohol 0.1 mmol, iodosylbenzene 0.15mmol,catalyst 0.2mg, 80℃ for 4.0h in 1,2-dichloroethane.It can be seen from the table that the Tb(Ⅲ) complex shows higher catalytic activity for the oxidation of benzyl alcohol. Further investigation is now being carded on to optimize the results.     

Sensitized luminescence from lanthanides in d–f bimetallic complexes

This article reviews progress in the research of transition metal–lanthanide (d–f) bimetallic complexes. Through efficient energy transfer, sensitized luminescence of lanthanide ions from the visible range (Eu^III) to the near-infrared region (Nd^III, Yb^III, Er^III and Pr^III) is obtained in these bimetallic assembles. The d-block in d–f bimetallic complexes mainly contributes to the improvement of lanthanide emission efficiency and the extension of the excitation window for the lanthanide complexes. Examples are catalogued by various transition metals, such as Ru^II, Os^II (Fe^II), Pt^II (Au^I), Pd^II, Re^I, Cr^III, Co^III, Zn^II and Ir^III. The relevant synthetic procedures, crystal structures and photophysical properties of these d–f complexes are briefly described. Additionally, the molecular properties responsible for the performance of certain d–f systems, such as energy levels, nuclear distances and coordination environments, will be discussed.     

Sensors based on double-decker rare earth phthalocyanines

Phthalocyanines are interesting materials for sensing applications because their physicochemical properties are susceptible to be modified by the presence of certain molecules. Among the large family of the phthalocyanines, the sensing properties of double-decker phthalocyanines (which are sandwich-type complexes where a lanthanide metal is co-ordinated with two phthalocyanine rings) are of special interest due to their unique physicochemical properties. Their high intrinsic semiconductivity and their rich electrochemical and electrochromic behaviour, facilitate enormously the measurement of the changes in the physicochemical properties caused by the environment. In spite of their remarkable sensing behaviour, bisphthalocyanines have not been so extensively studied as sensitive materials as the parent monophthalocyanine compounds. This is due to the difficulty of the synthesis and purification processes, and to the fact that these compounds are not commercially available. In this paper, the sensing devices constructed using rare earth bisphthalocyanines are revised (including sensors foe electronic noses and electronic tongues) and their advantages discussed.     

Preparation and luminescence properties of lanthanide (Eu3+, Sm3+) complexes and their hectorite-based composites

The complexes of europium and samarium with phthalates ligands were synthesized and characterized. The luminescence behaviors of the lanthanide complexes as well as their hectorite-based composites were investigated by fluorescence spectra. The results indicated that the lanthanide complexes showed slightly lower intensities in hectorite matrix than that of corresponding pure complexes. The lanthanide ion relative fluorescence intensity (LRFI) was enhanced when the lanthanide complexes were doped into hectorite.     

Solution studies of trimetallic lanthanide luminescent anion sensors: towards ratiometric sensing using an internal reference channel

Luminescent europium and terbium complexes and a mixed Eu(III)-Tb(III) complex were prepared, each with three macrocycles coordinating to a single lanthanide ion to form a trimetallic system, and can be used for the ratiometric sensing of anions in the case of the mixed complex.     

The synthesis and coordination chemistry of 2,6-bis(pyrazolyl)pyridines and related ligands — Versatile terpyridine analogues

Derivatives of 2,6-di(pyrazol-1-yl)pyridine and 2,6-di(pyrazol-3-yl)pyridine have been used as ligands for 15 years, and have both advantages and disadvantages in this regard compared to the much more widely investigated terpyridines. A review of the synthesis of these and some related ligand types, and a survey of their complex chemistry, are presented. Highlights of the latter include luminescent lanthanide compounds for biological sensing, and iron complexes showing unusual thermal and photochemical spin-state transitions.     

Assembly of hydrophobic shells and shields around lanthanides

Luminescent lanthanide complexes have been developed, based on the assembly of bulky ligands around the lanthanide ion, to provide shell-type protection of the ion from coordinated solvent molecules. Aryl-functionalised imidodiphosphinate ligands (tpip and Metpip) provide a bidentate anionic site that leads to hexa-coordinate lanthanide complexes in which the aryl groups surround the ion. There are twelve phenyl groups around the lanthanide that act as "remote" (from the binding site) sensitisers for the metal ion. It is shown that these ligands are suitable for sensitising luminescence for all the lanthanides that emit in the visible range, namely, SmIII, EuIII, TbIII, DyIII. A "builtin" shield on the ligand is designed to provide a complete block of the approach of water to the lanthanide ion. The synthesis of the ligands and their lanthanides complexes as well as detailed photophysical studies of the complexes in solution and in the solid-state are presented.     

Chiral tripode approach toward multiple anion sensing with lanthanide complexes

A chiral tripodal ligand was demonstrated to form a series of lanthanide complexes exhibiting multiple anion-sensing profiles, which incorporated a fluorescent quinoline and a stereo-controlled substituent in a tetradentate skeleton. This mainly gave 1:2 (lanthanide cation/ligand) complexes with lanthanide triflates but 1:1 complexes with lanthanide nitrates. Since addition of external guest anion dynamically changed the preferred stoichiometry, the chiral lanthanide complexes exhibited anion-responsive fluorescence, luminescence, and circular dichroism spectral characteristics as multiple anion-sensing probes.     

Lanthanide Complexes of Azidophenacyl‐DO3A as New Synthons for Click Chemistry and the Synthesis of Heterometallic Lanthanide Arrays

Lanthanide complexes of azidophenacyl DO3A are effective substrates for click reactions with ethyne derivatives, giving rise to aryl triazole appended lanthanide complexes, in which the aryl triazole acts as an effective sensitising chromophore for lanthanide luminescence. They also undergo click chemistry with propargylDO3A derivatives, giving rise to heterometallic complexes.     

Eu(III) and Tb(III) complexes of 1,3-bis(4-chlorophenyl)-1,3-propanedione combined with phenanthroline ligand: synthesis,structural characterization,and thermogravimetric studies

β-Diketone lanthanide complexes are used mainly in lighting, telecommunication, screens, safety inks, and marking as well as in the field of luminescent materials for probes in biosciences. Two new lanthanide ternary complexes, the general formula Eu(BCPP)₃(Phen) and Tb(BCPP)₃(Phen), combined 1,3-bis(4-chlorophenyl)-1,3-propanedione (BCPP) with 1,10-phenanthroline as a secondary ligand, were synthesized and structurally characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction, elemental analysis, FT-IR, and MALDI-TOF MS. Single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that these Eu(III) and Tb(III) complexes displayed bidentate ligands and a square antiprism geometry for the metal center. Also, the absorption and thermal behavior of these lanthanide complexes were investigated. When the maximum absorption of the lanthanide complexes was compared, it was observed that the absorption wavelength of the lanthanide complexes were red shifted in DMSO, DMF, and DCM, depending on the polarity of the solvent.