Synthesis, structure, and luminescent and magnetic properties of novel lanthanide metal-organic frameworks with zeolite-like topology

A series of microporous lanthanide metal-organic frameworks [Ln(BTC)(DMF)(2) x H(2)O, Ln = Tb (1), Dy (2), Ho (3), Er (4), Tm (5), Yb (6); DMF = N,N'-dimethylformamide] with 4 x 4 x 4 x 6 x 6 x 8 topology, which is very common in the zeolite topologies, have been synthesized under mild conditions. The single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that they exhibit the same three-dimensional (3D) architecture and crystallize in monoclinic symmetry space group C2/c. Organic and inorganic four-connected nodes link each other to form a 3D open framework. The framework contains approximate 13 Angstrom x 7 Angstrom rectangle channels along the [1,1,0] and [1,-1,0] directions, respectively. The luminescent properties of these complexes have been studied, and complex 1 shows a Tb(3+) characteristic emission in the range of 450-650 nm at room temperature. Complexes 1-5 exhibit antiferromagnetic interaction between Ln(3+) ions. The water sorption isotherm shows that about 15 water molecules per unit cell can be adsorbed into the micropores of dehydrated complex 4.