Solid-state materials lanthanide-coordination chemistry

Ultimately, the chemistry of lanthanide-containing MOFs and CPs can be regarded as a blend between the coordination chemistry of molecular and solid-state materials. The structural themes present in solid-state materials (e.g., edge sharing of polyhedra) and the coordination preferences seen in molecular compounds (e.g., N-, O- donors) are essentially what form the structural basis for extended topologies. 

James (16), Kitigawa and co-workers (17-19), Wuest (20), and Chen and coworkers (21) explore the chemistry, structures, and properties of MOFs and CPs from a variety of perspectives. Indeed, a recent special issue of the Journal of Solid State Chemistry was dedicated to these very topics (22). One wiU notice almost immediately that this field is dominated by materials based on block transition metal compositions. Lanthanide (Ln)-containing materials have been much scarcer, perhaps for reasons to be discussed herein (e.g., a tendency to exhibit higher coordination numbers) (23). With this in mind, however, recent advances in polymeric Ln-containing materials suggest that these compounds are as structurally diverse and that the unique luminescence behavior of the /-elements may be harnessed for applications, such as sensing and molecular recognition (23-30). Such inherent properties may extend the applications of framework materials beyond those introduced above. 

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