Synthesis and Structural Study by Wide-Angle X-ray Scattering (WAXS) of Polymeric {Ln2[M(opba)]3}·S Compounds Containing 4f LnIII and 3d MII {Ln2[M(opba)]3}·S Ions [opba =ortho-Phenylenebis(oxamato), S = Solvent Molecules]

The compounds of formula Ln2[M(opba)]3·xH2O·yDMSO containing 4f LnIII and 3d MII ions have been synthesized; opba stands for ortho-phenylenebis(oxamato). These compounds crystallize poorly, and hence structural information has been obtained from the wide angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) technique. It has been shown that the compounds present the same ladder-like motif as that previously described for Tm2[Cu(opba)]3·4H2O·10DMF. Changing the LnIII and/or MII ions results in more or less pronounced distortions of the ladders. For a given MII ion, changing the LnIII ion from LaIII to LuIII results in a decrease of the Ln–M distance parallel to the lanthanide contraction. In the same way, for a given rare earth, changing the MII ion from CuII to NiII and ZnII ions also results in the decrease of the Ln–M distance in accord with the decreasing radii of the MII ions. The structural details have been analyzed and discussed.