Self-Assembly of Luminescent Hexanuclear Lanthanide Salen Complexes

Four hexanuclear lanthanide salen complexes [Ln6(L1)4(OH)4(MeOH)4]·2Cl·4MeOH (Ln = Nd (1), Tb (2)), [Eu6(L2)4(OH)4(MeOH)2(EtOH)2(H2O)2]·2Cl·3EtOH·H2O (3), and [Er6(L2)4(OH)4(EtOH)2(H2O)2]·2Cl·2EtOH·MeOH·H2O (4) are formed from the reactions of LnCl3·6H2O and flexible Schiff base ligands H2L1 and H2L2 (H2L1 = N,N′-bis(3-methoxysalicylidene)(propylene-2-ol)-1,3-diamine, H2L2 = N,N′-bis(salicylidene)(propylene-2-ol)-1,3-diamine). The structures of 1–4 were determined by single crystal X-ray crystallographic studies, and their luminescence properties were determined.