Four rare structurally characterized hetero-pentanuclear [Zn 4 Ln] bis(salamo)-type complexes: syntheses, crystal structures and spectroscopic properties.

Four new hetero-pentanuclear 3d-4f complexes [Zn 4 (L) 2 La(NO 3 ) 2 (OEt)(H 2 O)] (1), [Zn 4 (L) 2 Ce(NO 3 ) 2 (OMe)(MeOH)] (2), [Zn 4 (L) 2 Pr(NO 3 ) 2 (OEt)(EtOH)] (3) and [Zn 4 (L) 2 Nd(NO 3 ) 2 (OMe)(MeOH)] (4) were synthesized by the reactions of a newly synthesized octadentate bis(salamo)-based tetraoxime ligand (H 4 L) with Zn(OAc) 2 ·2H 2 O and Ln(NO 3 ) 3 ·6H 2 O (Ln = La, Ce, Pr and Nd), respectively, and characterized via elemental analyses, FT-IR, UV-Vis spectroscopy and single crystal X-ray crystallography. The X-ray crystallographic investigation revealed that all Zn II ions were located in N 2 O 3 coordination spheres, and possessed a trigonal bipyramid coordination environment. The Ln III ion lay in an O 8 coordination sphere, and adopted a distorted square antiprismatic coordination environment. Furthermore, supramolecular interactions and fluorescence properties were investigated.