Interactions between metal ions and carbohydrates: the coordination behavior of neutral erythritol to zinc and europium nitrate.

The single crystals of coordinated complexes of neutral erythritol (C4H10O4) with zinc nitrate and europium nitrate were synthesized and studied using FT-IR and single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. In the structure of Zn(NO3)2.C4H10O4, ZnEN (E denotes erythritol, N represents nitrate), Zn2+ is coordinated to four hydroxyl groups from two erythritol molecules and two oxygen atoms from two nitrates. Two Zn2+ are connected by one erythritol molecule to form Zn(C4H10O4)(NO3)2 chain, and layers formed by above chain pile to produce 3D structures. In the structure of Eu(NO3)3.C4H10O4.C2H5OH, EuEN, Eu3+ is 10-coordinated by six oxygen atoms from three nitrate ions, three hydroxyl groups from one erythritol molecule and one hydroxyl group from ethanol. In the above erythritol complexes, two hydroxyl groups of erythritol coordinate to one metal ion and the other two to another metal ion or erythritol acts as three-hydroxyl groups donor. The OH groups of erythritol act as ligand to coordinate to metal ions on one hand, one the other hand, OH groups form hydrogen bonds network to build three-dimensional structures.