Phosphonate supported assembly of nanoscale lotus-leaf-shaped nonanuclear lanthanide clusters

Two discrete nonanuclear Ln(III) phosphonate clusters, formulated as, [Ln9(OH)(Hpmp)12(ClO4)(H2O)26](ClO4)13 · 18H2O (Ln = Nd for 1 and Pr for 2), were synthesized via the assembly of Ln(ClO4)3 with N-piperidinomethane-1-phosphonic acid (H2pmp) at a pH of 6.2 in aqueous solution. Single crystal X-ray diffraction and powder XRD patterns revealed that they are isostructural. In the crystal structure, the shape of arrangement of the nine Ln(III) ions can be described as a lotus-leaf. Furthermore, temperature-dependent magnetic susceptibilities of 1 and 2 have been investigated.