Three novel heterometallic oxysulfide clusters with different
coordination
small organic molecules have been solvothermally synthesized and structurally
characterized, i.e., [(
n
BuSn)3La(DTT)3(DETA)(L)] (
n
BuSn
= n-butyltin; DTT = 1,4-dithiothreitol; DETA = diethylenetriamine;
L = N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF)
(1), N-methyl pyrrolidone (NMP) (2), and N-methyl formanilide (MFA) (3)). These clusters are a bowl-shaped structure, composed
of a central DETA-coordinated La3+ cation fixed in the
triangle ring, [(
n
BuSn)3(DTT)3], and an amide molecule bonded to La3+ confined
inside the bowl. The coordinated amides can be changed and served
as a molecular regulator to optimize the microsteric interaction between
the clusters and further the physicochemical property. Remarkably,
the crystals of 1 exhibit strong blue-violet light emission
with the photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) of 3.69%, which significantly
exceeds than that of 2 and 3 and most of
the other organotin oxysulfide clusters. Theoretical calculations
and Hirshfeld surface analyses indicate that the weak amide-oriented
intercluster interactions of the compounds can regulate their photoluminescence
(PL) efficiency. This work provides a paradigm to reveal the relationships
between its PL and structurally fine-tuned coordination species.