High yield synthesis of octahedral hexanuclear rare-earth clusters using alkylamines

Octahedral hexanuclear rare-earth clusters [M6(μ-O)(μ-OH)8(NO3)6(H2O)x]·(NO3)2·yH2O (M = Y, Nd, Gd) were synthesized in high yields by hydrolyzing rare-earth nitrates with small alkylamines. This method does not require metallic reagents other than the rare-earth sources. The highest yields of Y6, Nd6, and Gd6 were ∼0.97, ∼0.68, and ∼0.92, respectively.