Anion Dependent Self-Assembly of Polynuclear Cd-Ln Schiff Base Nanoclusters: NIR Luminescent Sensing of Nitro Explosives.

Two types of polynuclear Cd-Ln complexes [CdLnL(NO)Cl(DMF)] [Ln = La () and Nd ()] and [LnCdL(NO)(DMF)](OH) [Ln = La () and Nd ()] were constructed using a new Schiff base ligand which has a long backbone with two phenyl groups. The Schiff base ligands show a "twist" configuration in -. The crystal structures show that the molecular dimensions of and are about 6 × 10 × 15 Å. The Cd-Nd complexes and exhibit the typical NIR luminescence of Nd. Interestingly, shows the luminescent sensing of nitro explosives and exhibits a high sensitivity to 2-nitrophenol at the ppm level.