Interactions between metal ions and carbohydrates. The coordination behavior of neutral erythritol to neodymium ion.

A single crystal of a coordinated complex of neutral erythritol (C4H10O4,E) with a neodymium ion, NdE(II), was synthesized and studied using FT-IR and X-ray diffraction analysis. In NdE(II) (NdCl3.2.5C4H10O4.C2H5OH) the Nd3+ coordinates with one chloride ion and eight OH groups from three erythritol molecules. There are two neodymium centers linked by one erythritol molecule with same coordination structure in the molecule. Two erythritol molecules provide 1,3,4-hydroxyl groups to coordinate with a neodymium ion; another erythritol molecule coordinates to two Nd ions via its 1,2-hydroxyl groups and 3,4-hydroxyl groups, respectively. The OH groups of erythritol act as ligand to coordinate to neodymium ions, and OH groups of erythritol form hydrogen bond networks that link chain and layer together to build three-dimensional structures. The ratio of metal to ligand is 1:2.5. The structure of NdE(II) is more complicated than the previously reported NdE(I), which is NdCl3.C4H10O4.6H2O; in NdE(I), Nd3+ is coordinated to four hydroxyl groups from two erythritol molecules, four water molecules and one chloride ion. The results indicate the complexity of metal-sugar interaction.