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Updated: Jun 7, 2026

Hyperspectral Imaging as a Tool to Study Optical Anisotropy in Lanthanide-Based Molecular Single Crystals
Published on: April 14, 2020
Site-selective lanthanide doping in a nonanuclear yttrium(III) cluster revealed by crystal structures and
François Baril-Robert1, Sarah Petit, Guillaume Pilet
1Département de Chimie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec H3C 3J7, Canada.
Abstract:
A series of lanthanide-doped nonanuclear yttrium(III) clusters with general formulas (Y(9-x)Ln(x))(acac)(16)(μ(3)-OH)(8)(μ(4)-O)(μ(4)-OH) (Ln = Pr, Eu, Tb, Dy, and Yb) were synthesized. Characterization by single-crystal X-ray diffraction allowed for analysis of relative populations of yttrium (Z = 39) and dopant trivalent lanthanide (Z = 59-70) at every crystallographic metal position. Nonuniform distribution of ions along the three different sites seems to be correlated to the site volume and the ratio of ionic radii. In support, luminescence spectra of europium(III)-doped nonanuclear clusters were measured over a wide range of dopant concentrations. Emission intensities of peaks characteristic of specific sites correlate well with the site population determined through X-ray diffraction.
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