From rational octahedron design to reticulation serendipity. A thermally stable rare earth polymeric disulfonate family with CdI2-like structure, bifunctional catalysis and optical properties

A new family of lanthanide disulfonates Ln(OH)(NDS) (H2O), (Ln = La, Pr and Nd; NDS = 1,5- naphthalenedisulfonate) was designed and hydrothermally synthesized; this is the first example of a disulfonate ligand coordinated to six different Ln atoms; these materials, with high thermal stability, act as active and selective bifunctional catalysts in oxidation and epoxide ring opening; strong luminescence from the optically active Nd center was observed.