Structural and photophysical properties of heterobimetallic 4f-zn iminophenolate cryptates

Lanthanide complexes with the Schiff base axial macrobicyclic ligand L(1) react with Zn(II) nitrate in the presence of CaH(2) to yield Ln(III)-Zn(II) heterodinuclear cryptates with the formula Ln(NO(3))(L(1)-3H)Zn](NO(3)).xH(2)O.yMeOH. The macrobicyclic receptor L(1) is an azacryptand N(CH(2))(2)N=CH-R-CH=N-(CH(2))(2)](3)N (R = 1,3-(2-OH-5-Me-C(6)H(2))). The crystal structures of the Pr(III), Yb(III), and Lu(III) complexes, chemical formulas Ln(NO(3))(L(1)-3H)Zn](NO(3)).xSolv (monoclinic, C2/c, Z = 8), as well as that of Zn(2)(L(1)-3H)](NO(3)).H(2)O (15) (triclinic, P(-)1, Z = 2), have been determined by X-ray crystallography. The ligand is helically wrapped around the two metal ions, leading to pseudo-C(3) symmetries around the metals. The Ln(III)-Zn(II) distances lie in the range 3.3252(13) to 3.2699(14) A, while the Zn(II)-Zn(II) distance in 15 amounts to 3.1037(18) A. The three five-membered chelate rings of the ligand backbone coordinating the Ln(III) ion adopt a (lambdalambdadelta)(5) (or (deltadeltalambda)(5)) conformation while the three pseudochelate rings formed by the coordination of the ligand to the Zn(II) ion adopt a (lambda'lambda'lambda')(5) (or (delta'delta'delta')(5)) conformation. Thus in the solid state the conformation of the three cations is Lambda(deltadeltalambda)(5)(delta'delta'delta')(5) or its enantiomeric form Delta(lambdalambdadelta)(5)(lambda'lambda'lambda')(5). In solution, the helicates present a time-averaged C(3) symmetry, as shown by (1)H NMR, and the conformation of the cations is described as Lambda(deltadeltadelta)(5)(delta'delta'delta')(5) (or Delta(lambdalambdalambda)(5)(lambda'lambda'lambda')(5)). The photophysical properties of the cryptates depend on the nature of the Ln(III) ion, and (L-3H)(3)(-) is revealed to be a good sensitizer for Eu(III) and Tb(III) at low temperatures, but the emission at room temperature is limited by the low energy of the ligand (3)pipi state. While Eu(III) is most effectively sensitized by the ligand triplet state, the Tb(III) ((5)D(4)) sensitization occurs via the singlet state. The quantum yield of the metal-centered luminescence in the Eu-Zn cryptate amounts to 1.05% upon ligand excitation. The low energy of the ligand (3)pipi state allows efficient sensitization of the Nd(III) and Yb(III) cryptates, which emit in the near-infrared.