A four-shell, 136-metal 3d-4f heterometallic cluster approximating a rectangular parallelepiped

A nanosized heterometallic cluster containing 60 La(III) and 76 Ni(II) ions, which are arranged into a four-shell, nest-like framework structure, was obtained by the hydrolytic reaction of the mixed La(NO3)(3)-Ni(NO3)(2) system using iminodiacetate as an ancillary ligand to control the hydrolysis.