Synthesis, Crystal Structure, and Optical Properties of Mononuclear Eu(III) and Tb(III) Complexes Containing a Chalcone Ligand

Chalcones are & alpha;,& beta;-unsaturated ketones with great structural diversity and various applications. A chalcone produced by condensation of 2-acetylpyridine with 2-naphthaldehyde (L) was employed for synthesis of two mononuclear complexes: [Eu(L)(hfac)3(H2O)]& BULL;0.5CHCl3 and [Tb(L)(hfac)3], where hfac is the hexafluoroacetylacetonate anion. The chalcone and complexes were structurally characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The chalcone acts as a chelating bidentate ligand. Luminescent properties of the ligand L and the complexes were investigated in the solid state. For these heteroleptic mononuclear complexes, the emission of the Eu(III) and Tb(III) ions was influenced by the excitation wavelength.

Automated summary

Chalcones are a type of α, β-unsaturated ketones with great structural diversity and various applications. In this study, a chalcone synthesized by condensation of 2-acetylpyridine with 2-naphthaldehyde was employed for the synthesis of two mononuclear complexes. The structures of the chalcone and complexes were characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, revealing that the chalcone acts as a chelating bidentate ligand. The luminescent properties of the ligand and complexes were investigated in the solid state, and it was found that the emission of Eu(III) and Tb(III) ions are influenced by the excitation wavelength.