Hydrothermal synthesis, structural investigation, and magnetic properties of 2-D layered lanthanide (Ln = Pr, Eu, Gd, Tb, and Er) coordination polymers possessing infinite 1-D nanosized cavities

<div><p>Five 2-D Ln(III) coordination polymers, [Ln(PDA)(PDAH)]_n (PDA = 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylate), have been obtained under mild hydrothermal condition. In each coordination polymer, PDA is tetradentate and pentadentate, while lanthanides have coordination number eight to generate trigonal prismatic, triangular face bicapped LnO₆N₂ geometry having 9 triangular and 2 square faces. Two different types of bridging oxygens are responsible to grow the 2-D coordination polymers providing open channels possessing infinite 1-D nanosized cavities. Adjacent 2-D chains are further extended to a 3-D hydrogen-bonded layered network through intermolecular <i>π</i>–<i>π</i> interactions and C–H⋯O hydrogen bonds. Four lanthanides are arranged roughly at the vertices of a square and bridged by eight carboxylates leading to the overall tetrahedral shape of the secondary building units. The abnormal behavior of lanthanide contraction for the atomic radii of europium can be attributed to overlapping of electron clouds. The overall magnetic behavior is typical for the presence of antiferromagnetic exchange coupling interactions. Thermal decomposition analysis reveals that the coordination polymers have significant thermal stability. The coordination polymers are further characterized using elemental analysis and FT-IR spectroscopy.</p>