Aggregation-Induced Emission and Single-Molecule Magnet Behavior of TPE-Based Ln(III) Complexes.

Multifunctional lanthanide complexes have been studied extensively owing to their promising applications in information storage, luminescence sensors and magneto-optical devices, etc. Here, we report the facile synthesis of two discrete highly thermally stable lanthanide compounds, Ln(hfac) 3 (TPE-tz) (Ln=Eu, Dy), by the reaction of the AIE-active organic ligand with Ln(III) β-diketonate precursor. Due to different energy gaps between the triplet state of the ligand and the accepted level of Ln(III) ions, Eu(hfac) 3 (TPE-tz) exhibited remarkably enhanced luminescence intensity upon aggregation, i. e., a typical AIE behavior, while Dy(hfac) 3 (TPE-tz) displayed weak characteristic emission bands of Dy(III) ions. In addition, Dy(hfac) 3 (TPE-tz) showed field-induced SMM behavior. This work shows that careful choice of auxiliary ligands paves the way for the construction of multifunctional lanthanide smart materials.