Systematic study on electrochemical properties of a series of TCNQ lanthanide complexes

The electrochemical properties of a series of TCNQ (TCNQ = 7,7,8,8-tetracyano-p-quinodimethane) lanthanide complexes have been investigated for the first time. Cyclic voltammograms and differential pulse voltammograms of this series of TCNQ lanthanide complexes show a reversible one-electron oxidation and a reversible one-electron reduction within the electrochemical window of CH3CN. Their electrochemical HOMO−LUMO gap and reversibility are examined. Three new TCNQ lanthanide complexes, namely, [Ln2(TCNQ)4(H2O)12][2TCNQ]·xMeOH·yH2O [Ln = Ce (1, x = 1, y = 3), Nd (2, x = 2, y = 4), Sm (3, x = 2, y = 3)] have been characterized. X-ray single-crystal diffraction reveals that 1−3 are ion complexes with one dimeric cation and two TCNQradical dot− counterions.