Self-assembled two-dimensional salicylaldimine lanthanum(III) nitrate coordination polymer

The unprecedented self-assembled formation of a two-dimensional salicylaldimine lanthanum coordination polymer is proved by the X-ray diffraction analysis of new lanthanum(III) nitrate complex containing the N,N′-bis(salicylidene)-1,4-butanediamine ligand L, which was prepared in situ through one-step template 2+1] Schiff base condensation of salicylaldehyde with 1,4-butanediamine in the presence of lanthanum(III) nitrate ion and characterized by spectroscopic (IR, ESI-MS, UV-Vis, and ¹H NMR) data and microanalysis. The complex displays an infinite La₂L₄(NO₃)₆]_∞ polymeric structure based on networks of ten-coordinated La(III) nodes linked by bridging L ligands. The coordination geometry around the lanthanum is a distorted bicapped dodecahedron. This polymer can be described as composed from the columns of dimers connected into chains, via the flexible chain parts of ligands.