Synergistic Experimental and Theoretical Studies of Luminescent-Magnetic LnZn Clusters.

The present work is part of our ongoing quest for developing functional inorganic complexes using unorthodox pyridyl-pyrazolyl-based ligands. Accordingly, we report herein the synthesis, characterization, and luminescence and magnetic properties of four 3d-4f mixed-metal complexes with a general core of LnZn (Ln = Dy, Gd, Tb, and Eu). In stark contrast to the popular wisdom of using a compartmental ligand with separate islands of and coordinating sites for selective coordination, we have vindicated our approach of using a ligand with overcrowded N-coordinating sites that show equal efficiency with both 4f and 3d metals toward multinuclear cage-cluster formation.