Polynuclear Lanthanide Assemblies: How to Design Multifunctional Systems

Prof. Jan Hamacek

University of Orleans

Polynuclear lanthanide complexes represent interesting chemical systems, which may provide peculiar
optical and magnetic functionalities useful in different applications. Such compounds can be
advantageously accessed by a supramolecular self-assembly under thermodynamic and kinetic control.
However, a successful application of this approach requires a meticulous design of organic
multidentate platforms to ensure stereochemical matching between components. For several years we
are interested in designing new tripodal ligands and in better understanding of their interactions
with lanthanides in self-assembled polynuclear complexes. In this lecture, we will present
different aspects of this chemical design. Several polytopic organic receptors will be introduced
with the focus on specific anchoring moieties. Structural and physico-chemical properties of
related three-dimensional edifices will be presented in detail. Thermodynamic characteristics will
be discussed with respect (i) to the control of self-assembly processes and (ii) to possible
predictions of new supramolecular functional compounds. Potential applications in bioanalytics,
optical imaging or nanomaterials will be also evoked.