Review: Lanthanide coordination chemistry: from old concepts to coordination polymers

Because of their remarkable and unmatched optical and magnetic properties, the lanthanides are under the limelight when it comes to high technology. These elements are used in strategic applications such as optical glasses and lasers, telecommunications, lighting and displays, magnetic materials, hard-disk drives, security inks and counterfeiting tags, catalysis, biosciences, and medicine, to name but a few. Long considered as minor actors in transition metal chemistry, they have now gained respect from coordination chemists who insert them into sophisticated functional and polyfunctional molecules and materials. This mini review focuses on trivalent lanthanide ions and first summarizes their basic properties. Then some classical aspects of their coordination chemistry are discussed, followed by macrocyclic chemistry, supramolecular chemistry, and self-assembly processes. The last part of this contribution deals with coordination polymers and hybrid materials including potential applications.