SYNTHESIS AND STRUCTURAL CHARACTERIZATION OF SOME ANHYDROUS LN(OTF)3 COMPLEXES (LN = SC, LA, ND, SM, GD AND ER - OTF = CF3SO3)

Reacting dilute HOTf (OTf = O3SCF3) (10(-3)-10(-2) M) with oxides or chlorides of Sc(III) La(III), Nd(III), Sm(III), Gd(III) and Er(III). followed by thermal dehydration in vacuo, yielded anhydrous trifluoromethanesulphonato (triflato) complexes. X-ray powder diffraction showed that, except for Sc(OTf)3, these complexes are isomorphous. IR and Raman spectroscopies indicate that OTf is a tridentate ligand in M(OTf)3 (M = La, Nd, Sm, Gd and Er) and that the central atom is nine-coordinate, while in Sc(OTf), OTf is bidentate and Sc is in an octahedral environment. Strong fluorescence phenomena were observed, particularly with Nd, Sm and Er complexes.