Lanthanides light the way

Lanthanide complexes are showing potential for second order nonlinear optics (NLO), according to French researchers.

Lanthanides have previously been shown to possess good luminescent and magnetic properties but this is one of the first reports of their NLO activity.

The team, led by Olivier Maury at the Universit? de Rennes, have used trivalent lanthanide ions instead of transition metal centres in coordination complexes which act as NLO-phores.

A family of lanthanide tris-nitrate complexes utilising a new functionalised annelated terpyridyl ligand have been made for just this purpose.

Lanthanides are strong Lewis acids and have the ability to form complexes surrounded by many ligands, making them ideal for use in NLO.

These findings are promising for developing multifunctional materials that combine lanthanide luminescent properties and NLO activity, which will be particularly useful for biological imaging.

Suzanne Abbott