Two lanthanide coordination polymers
(CPs) {[Er(Hmtbd)(H2mtbd)(H2O)3]·2H2O}
n
(1) and [Yb(Hmtbd)(H2mtbd)(H2O)3]
n
(2) carrying an N-heterocyclic carboxylate
ligand 5-(3-methylformate-1H-1,2,4-triazole-1-methyl)benzen-1,3-dicarboxylate
(H3mtbd) were prepared under solvothermal conditions. The
single-crystal X-ray diffraction data demonstrate that 1 and 2 are isostructural and display 1D chain structure.
Alternating current (AC) impedance measurements illustrate that the
highest proton conductivities of 1 and 2 can attain 5.09 × 10–3 and 3.09 × 10–3 S·cm–1 at 100 °C and
98% relative humidity (RH), respectively. The value of 1 exceeds those of most reported lanthanide-based crystalline materials
and ranks second among the described Er-CPs under similar conditions,
whereas the value for 2 is the highest proton conductivity
among the previous Yb-CPs. Coupled with the structural analyses of
the two CPs and H2O vapor adsorption, the calculated E
a values help to deduce their proton conductive
mechanisms. Notably, the N-heterocyclic units (triazole), carboxyl,
and hydrogen-bonding network all play key roles in the proton-transfer
process. The prominent proton conductive abilities of both CPs show
great promise as efficient proton conductors.