Lanthanide(III) 1,4-Phenylenediacetate Complexes: The Relation Between the Structure and Thermal Properties

Abstract

The series of isostructural lanthanide coordination polymers with the empirical formula [Ln2(PDA)3(H2O)]·2H2O, where PDA = 1,4-phenylenediacetate anion = [C8H8(COO)2]2−; Ln = La-Lu(III), and Y(III) were produced in the reaction of LnCl3·nH2O with ammonium salt of 1,4-phenylenediacetic acid in water solution. The compounds were characterised structurally using powder X-ray diffraction, elemental and thermogravimetric analyses as well as FT-IR spectroscopy. Thermogravimetric analyses show that in the range 60–170 °C the dehydration process occurs. The thermal stability of dehydrated compounds, Ln2(PDA)3 increased from about 200–350 °C in the whole series of complexes. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis for the Gd(III) complex revealed that the compound crystallizes in the monoclinic P21/c space group with a = 21.863(2) A, b = 10.035(1) A, c = 13.854(1) A, β = 91.53(1)° and V = 3,038.5(4) A3. The complex contains one-dimensional gadolinium-carboxylato chains, which are connected with the –CH2–C6H4–CH2– spacers of PDA ligand to the three-dimensional metal–organic framework.