A Series of Lanthanide Secondary Building Units Based Metal-Organic Frameworks Constructed by Organic Pyridine-2,6-Dicarboxylate and Inorganic Sulfate

A series of novel lanthanide coordination polymers constructed from organic pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylate (2,6-pydc) and inorganic sulfate, namely, [Eu-3(2,6-pydc)(3)(2,6-Hpydc)(SO4)(H2O)(3)center dot(H2O)(3)] (1), [Ln(2)(2,6-pydc)(2)(SO4)(H2O)(2)center dot (H2O)(2)] (Ln = Ce (2); Ln = Pr (3); Ln = Nd (4); Ln = Sm (5)), and [Ce-5(2,6-pydc)(6)(SO4)(2)(H2O)(3)center dot(Me2NH2)] (6), have been synthesized under hydrothermal conditions. X-ray crystal structure analyses reveal that these compounds have a rich structural chemistry. Compound 1 presents a four-connected two-dimensional (2D) network based on hexanuclear {Eu-6} secondary building units (SBUs). The 2D layers are further linked into a three-dimensional (3D) supramolecular framework via strong pi-pi stacking interactions of the pyridyl rings. Compounds 2-5 are isostructural and adopt uninodal six-connected 3D framework of pcu topology constructed from square-planar tetranuclear {Ln(4)} SBUs. Of particular interest is that compound 6 exhibits a protonated (Me2NH2)(+) templated binodal (4,6)-connected 3D anionic framework with (42510728)(4254) topology, when the Ce(3) monomer and the planar tetranuclear (Ce-4) SBUs are regarded as four-connected and six-connected nodes, respectively. Notably, sulfate serves as an auxiliary supporting bridge to strengthen the {Ln(4)} or {Ln(6)} SBUs in these compounds. Compound 1 displays intense red luminescence and exhibits the characteristic transition of the Eu3+ ion. The magnetic properties of 1, 4, and 5 reveal the weak antiferromagnetic characters. Furthermore, infrared (I R), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), elemental analyses (EA), and powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) properties of these compounds are also studied.