A convenient synthesis of highly luminescent lanthanide 1D-zigzag coordination chains based only on 4,4?-bipyridine as connector

The coordination polymers (1)(infinity)[Ln(beta - dik)(3)bpy]center dot C7H8 (Ln = Eu, beta-dik = dbm, tta, hfac; Ln = Tb; beta-dik = dbm; Hdbm = dibenzoylmethane, Htta = thenoyltrifltioroacetone, Hhfac: hexafluoroacetylacetone) were easily assembled in mild conditions and high yields starting from the anhydrous lanthanide beta-diketonates as nodes and 4,4'-bipyridine (bpy) as connector. X-ray single crystal studies have shown zigzag extended chains where lanthanide centres are 8-coordinated in a distorted square-antiprismatic geometry. Photoluminescence studies show bright red europium emission and spectral features dependent on the topology of the polymeric chains.