Formation of two diverse classes of poly(amino-alkoxide) chelates and their mononuclear and polynuclear lanthanide(III) complexes.

Factors that influence aggregation of lanthanide(III) (LnIII) ions to form polynuclear complexes were studied utilizing 1-aziridineethanol as a versatile source of macrocyclic and acyclic chelates. The facile ring-opening cyclo-oligomerization of 1-aziridineethanol leads to the formation of a series of polyaza cyclic oligomers (series A). In the presence of ethylenediamine, a competing N-alkylation reaction occurs to produce a new class of acyclic ligands (series B). The cyclo-oligomerization of four 1-aziridineethanol units is the most favorable process, leading to the formation of the 12-membered cyclen-type macrocycle, H4L1 (1,4,7,10-tetrakis(2-hydroxyethyl)-1,4,7,10-tetraaza-cyclododecane). Ring-opening cyclo-oligomerization of 1-aziridineethanol in the presence of LnIII ions produces self-assembled mononuclear, tetranuclear, and pentanuclear compounds of H4L1. In the presence of ethylenediamine, oligomerization of 1-aziridineethanol results in a dinuclear complex of an acyclic poly(amino-alkoxide) H2...