Synthesis,crystal structure,antioxidation and fluorescence of two lanthanide complexes with a noncyclic polyether Schiff base ligand

Two lanthanide (Sm and La) complexes with the Schiff base ligand bis(3-methoxysalicylidene)-3-oxapentane-1,5-diamine (Bod) have been synthesized and characterized by physico-chemical and spectroscopic methods. Sm(Bod)(NO₃)₃] {bis(3-methoxysalicylidene)-3-oxapentane-1,5-diamine samarium(III) trinitrate} (1) is a discrete mononuclear species and La(Bod)(NO₃)₃(DMF)]_n {bis(3-methoxysalicylidene)-3-oxapentane-1,5-diamine dimethylformamide lanthanum(III) trinitrate}_n (2) formed an inorganic coordination polymer. In the two complexes, the metal ions are both ten-coordinate and the geometric structure around the Ln(III) ions can be described as distorted hexadecahedral. An antioxidant assay in vitro shows that complexes 1 and 2 exhibit better scavenging activity than both the ligand and the usual antioxidants on hydroxyl and superoxide radicals. Under excitation at room temperature, a red shift in the fluorescence band of the ligand in the complexes compared with that of the free ligand can be attributed to coordination of the rare earth ions to the ligand. Furthermore, 1 produced characteristic Sm(III) luminescence, which indicates the ligand Bod is a good organic chelator to absorb energy and transfer it to the Sm³⁺ ion.