Electronic structure and optical properties of Ln(III) nitrate adducts with 1,10-phenanthroline

Adducts of tris-nitrates of rare-earth elements Ce(III), Nd(III), Eu(III), and Er(III) with two molecules of 1,10-phenanthroline with formula Ln(NO₃)₃(Phen)₂ are studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and quantum chemistry (DFT/TDDFT). The geometric structure for DFT modeling is build using X-ray diffraction data. To analyze the composition and differences of the electronic structure in the series under study, XPS spectra were obtained for which interpretation was performed using calculated data. It has been shown that the molecule of Phen, when attached to the complexes of nitrates, is polarized, leads to an increase in absorption in the visible region and reduces the energy gap between HOMO and LUMO. Experimental absorption spectra were obtained, described and interpreted using TDDFT simulation. The transitions in adducts from π to π * MO in Phen ligands determine the main absorption band. The reasons for the absence of luminescence in adducts with ions Ce(III), Nd(III), and Er(III) are revealed by the example of the correlation diagram of singlet and triplet levels. A possible origin of coloring of adducts is determined using TDDFT.