Complexation of europium(III) by bis(dialkyltriazinyl)bipyridines in 1-octanol

The present work focuses on highly selective ligands for An(III)/Ln(III) separation: bis(triazinyl)bipyridines (BTBPs). By combining time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy, nanoelectrospray ionization mass spectrometry, vibronic sideband spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction, we obtain a detailed picture of the structure and stoichiometry of the first coordination sphere of Eu(III)-BTBP complexes in an octanolic solution. The main focus is on the 1:2 complexes because extraction studies revealed that those are the species extracted into the organic phase. The investigations on europium(III) complexes of BTBP with different triazin alkylation revealed differences in the formed complexes due to the bulkiness of the ligands. Because of the vibronic sidebands in the fluorescence spectra, we were able to detect whether or not nitrate ligands are coordinated in the first coordination sphere of the Eu-BTBP complexes. In solution, less sterically demanding BTBP offers enough space for additional coordination of anions and/or solvent molecules to form 9-coordinated Eu-BTBP 1:2 complexes, while bulkier ligands tend to form 8-fold-coordinated structures. We also report the first crystal structure of a Ln-BTBP 1:2 complex and that of its 1:1 complex, both of which are 10-coordinated.