Heterotopic divergent ligand N-oxide-4,4'-bipyridine (bipyMO) has been herein exploited for the preparation of hetero-bimetallic coordination polymers where Ln(hfac)3 and M(hfac)2 nodes regularly alternate (Hhfac = 1,1,1,5,5,5-hexafluoro-2,4-pentanedione), bipyMO being able to selectively use its two potential coordination sites to discriminate the metal ions. The synthesis of three coordination polymers, [Ln(hfac)3M(hfac)2(bipyMO)2]n (Ln = Eu, M = Zn, 1; Ln = Eu, M = Cu, 2, Ln = Dy, M = Co, 3), was carried out by reacting the appropriate [M(hfac)2(bipyMO)]n and [Ln(hfac)3] precursors in toluene in the presence of a given stoichiometric amount of bipyMO. The products were characterized by elemental analysis, X-ray powder diffraction, and FTIR spectroscopy. Single crystal X-ray diffraction studies carried out on 2 showed that it was formed by chains containing the hexa-coordinated 3d metal (Cu(hfac)2[N]2) and the octa-coordinated lanthanide (Eu(hfac)3[O]2) nodes, where [N] and [O] stand for the donor atom of the bridging divergent ligand. The X-ray powder diffraction patterns of the three compounds and the comparison of their cell constant values allowed establishing that the derivatives were isotypic. Photoluminescence (PL) studies on microcrystalline sample powders evidenced a bright red emission for 1 with an absolute PL quantum yield of 0.24. The sensitized emission of Eu3+ can be excited in a wide wavelength range, from UV to visible, up to ≈450 nm. Conversely, europium emissions are not detectable in 2 due to the presence of Cu(hfac)2(bipyMO) moieties whose strong absorption overlaps Eu3+ transitions. Magnetic measurements conducted on 3 revealed the presence of a weak ferromagnetic interaction below 2.1 K. An ac susceptibility study highlighted a slow relaxation of the magnetization of 3 with an applied static magnetic field of 0.1 T, which could be equally fitted with a Orbach-direct or a Raman-direct mechanism. No relaxation dynamics was detected without the application of a static magnetic field.

Bi12O17Cl2/(BiO)2CO3 nanocomposite materials were studied as bifunctional systems for depuration of wastewater. They are able to efficiently adsorb and decompose rhodamine B (RhB) and methyl orange (MO), used as model pollutants. Bi12O17Cl2/(BiO)2CO3 nanocomposites were synthesized at room temperature and ambient pressure by means of controlled hydrolysis of BiCl3 in the presence of a surfactant (Brij 76). Cold treatments of the pristine samples with UV light or thermal annealing at different temperatures (370–500 °C) and atmospheres (air, Ar/30% O2) were adopted to modulate the relative amounts of Bi12O17Cl2/(BiO)2CO3 and hence the morphology, surface area, ζ-potential, optical absorption in the visible range, and the adsorption/degradation of pollutants. The best performance was achieved by (BiO)2CO3-rich samples, which adsorbed 80% of MO and decomposed the remaining 20% by visible light photocatalysis. Irrespective of the dye, all of the samples were able to almost complete the adsorption step within 10 min contact time. Bi12O17Cl2-rich composite materials displayed a lower adsorption ability, but thanks to the stronger absorption in the visible range they behaved as more effective photocatalysts. The obtained results evidenced the ability of the employed strategy to modulate sample properties in a wide range, thus pointing out the effectiveness of this approach for the synthesis of multifunctional inorganic materials for environmental remediation

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In this study, we present the aqueous solution behavior of two luminescent lanthanide antenna complexes (Eu ⊂1, Dy ⊂9) with different ligand topologies in the presence of dipicolinic acid (DPA, pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylic acid). Macrocyclic (1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7-triacetic acid, DO3A, 9) and acyclic (1,4,7-triazaheptane-1,1,7,7-tetraacetic acid, DTTA, 1) ligands have been selected to form a ratiometric pair in which Dy ⊂9 acts as a reference and Eu ⊂1 acts as a probe for the recognition of DPA. The pair of luminescent complexes in water reveals the capability to work as a DPA luminescent sensor. The change of emission intensity of Eu indicates the occurrence of a new sensitization path for the lanthanide cation through excitation of DPA. NMR evidence implies the presence of free 1 and mass spectrometry shows the formation of emitting [EuDPA ] as a result of a ligand exchange reaction.