Lanthanide Coordination Polymers and MOFs based on the Dicyanodihydridoborate Anion.

New lanthanide cyanoborates were synthesized from anhydrous lanthanide chlorides and the acid H[BH2 (CN)2 ] in either acetonitrile or pyridine. Reactions in acetonitrile lead to three-dimensional, anionic metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) 3 ∞ [Ln2 {BH2 (CN)2 }9 ]⋅[Ln(CH3 CN)9 ] (Ln=Ce, Eu, Tb) which incorporate complex cations [Ln(CH3 CN)9 ]3+ in the pores of the framework for charge compensation. In contrast, the reactions in pyridine result in the formation of one-dimensional coordination polymers 1 ∞ [H(py)2 ][LnCl2 {BH2 (CN)2 }2 (py)2 ]⋅0.5 py (Ln=Ce, Pr, py=pyridine) with [H(py)2 ]+ as counter ions for the anionic strand structure. The products show intense photoluminescence, for Ce3+ based on 5d-4f transitions in the blue spectral region, whereas the Eu3+ and Tb3+ compounds exhibit characteristic photoluminescence based on 4f-4f transitions of the respective lanthanide ions. The observed photoluminescence is mainly attributed to a direct excitation of the lanthanide ions and sensitization of the lanthanide ions by the [BH2 (CN)2 ]- anions. These results mark the utilized borate anions as versatile building block for new coordination compounds.