Hydrothermal reactions of lanthanide(III) chlorides and H2O3PCH2NCH2(CH2CH2OPO2H) (H3L) with oxalate anion lead to six novel lanthanide oxalatophosphonates with a three-dimensional (3D) framework structure, namely, {[Ln(H2L)(C2O4)(H2O)]·nH2O}∞ [n = 3 (compounds 1–3), 2 (compounds 4–6); Ln = Ce (1), Pr (2), Nd (3), Sm (4), Eu (5), and Tb(6)]. Compounds 1–6 are isostructural and feature a complex 3D network built from 1D chains of lanthanide oxalate and {Ln(H2L)}2+ chains. These lanthanide oxalatophosphonates possess two types of channels with dimensions of 11.6 Å × 4.4 Å and 13.8 Å × 8.9 Å along the a- and b-axis, respectively, and these channels incorporate some crystalline water molecules therein by hydrogen-bonding interactions. They show an unusual noninterpenetrated (3,5)-connected topology. The title compounds were characterized by X-ray single-crystal diffraction and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) as well as with infrared spectroscopy and elemental and thermogravimetric analysis. Furthermore, the temperature-dependent powder XRD, the variable temperature IR spectroscopy, and the dehydration/hydration properties of compound 2 have also been studied. Luminescent measurements indicate that the Sm (4) and Eu (5) compounds exhibit strong luminescence in yellow light and red light regions, respectively.
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