Crystal Structure and Highly Luminescent Properties Studies of Bis-β-diketonate Lanthanide Complexes

A new bis(β-diketonate), 1,3-bis(4,4,4-trifluoro-1,3-dioxobutyl)phenyl (BTP), which contains a trifluorinated alkyl group, has been prepared for the synthesis of two series of dinuclear lanthanide complexes with the general formula Ln2(BTP)3L2 [Ln3+ = Eu3+, L = DME(1), bpy(2), and phen(3); Ln3+ = Sm3+, L = DME(4), bpy(5), and phen(6); DME = ethylene glycol dimethyl ether, bpy = 2,2′-bipyridine, phen = 1,10-phenanthroline]. The crystal structure of the free ligand has been determined and shows a twisted arrangement of the two binding sites around the 1,3-phenylene spacer. X-ray crystallographic analysis reveals that complexes 1, 2, 4, and 5 are triple-stranded dinuclear structures formed by three bis-bidentate ligands with two lanthanide ions. The room-temperature photoluminescence (PL) spectra of complexes 1–6 show that this bis-β-diketonate can effectively sensitize rare earths (Sm3+ and Eu3+) and produce characteristic emissions of the corresponding Eu3+ and Sm3+ ions. In addition, two bidentate nitroge...