Synthesis, Structural Analysis and Bright Emission Performance of a New Family of 3D Lanthanide Coordination Polymers Based on 1,3‐phenylenediacetic Acid

A novel series of isostructural lanthanide coordination polymers with the general formula [Ln2(PDA)3(DMF)2] (where Ln3+= La, Nd, Pr, Tb, Sm and Eu, DMF= N,N’-dimethylformamide and PDA =1,3-phenylenediacetate) were hydrothermally synthesized and further characterized by vibrational spectroscopy, thermal analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis, and powder and single-crystal X-ray diffraction techniques. In addition, from the crystallographic data, it was possible to determine the topology of the structure, finding that the network consists of 5-connected nodes with topological type: nov; 5/4/o8 and point symbol (44.66). To study the luminescence properties regarding potential energy transfers among the building blocks, lanthanum-based samples doped with Tb (III) and Eu (III) (1%, 2%, 5% and 10%) were analyzed in solid state. Upon ligand sensitization, 4f transitions could be observed confirming an "antenna effect" of the PDA ligand. These new compounds are potential materials for the construction of photoluminiscent devices.