Schiff base complexes containing luminescent lanthanides have been studied as potential components of functional materials. Salen type heterobimetallic 3d-4f complexes comprised of neodymium and ytterbium have yielded promising results as emitters in the near-infrared. Herein, we report the synthesis and structural characterization of a naphthalene bridged salen complex with two tetradentate binding sites. The Zn(II) complex (ZnL), {6,6’-dimethoxy-2,2’-[naphthalene-2,3-diylbis(nitrilomethylidyne)]diphenolato}a-pyridylzinc(II) was isolated before refluxing with lanthanum(III) nitrate to yield the heterobimetallic complex {ZnL[La(NO3)3 ● H2O]}. Through vapor diffusion of THF into a pyridine solution of the complex, single crystals suitable for x-ray diffraction were grown. In this complex, the lanthanum atom adopts an all-face capped trigonal prismatic geometry and sits below the ligand plane, while the zinc atom adopts a distorted square pyramidal geometry and sits above the ligand plane. This characterization indicates the potential for these synthetic techniques to succeed with near-infrared emitting lanthanides for practical application, whereby this ligand platform would allow for low-energy luminescence sensitization.

Structural characterization of a heterobimetallic Zn/La Schiff base complex

255th National Meeting (2018)

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