Long-lived luminescent soft materials of hexanitratosamarate(III) complexes with orange visible emission.

Sm(III)-based ionic liquids incorporating hexanitratosamarate(III) anions were obtained and fully characterized as novel Sm(III)-containing organic complexes. The structure of the ionic liquids was determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction (1: monoclinic system C2/c space group with cell parameters: a = 19.5624(4) Å, b = 10.11895(18) Å, c = 33.2256(6) Å, β = 101.2912(18)°, Z = 8). The central Sm(III) ion is 12-coordinated by six bidentate nitrate ligands with twelve oxygen donors to form a [Sm(NO3)6](3-) anion. The low melting point, high thermostability and wide liquid range of these ionic liquids were determined in detail. All the complexes 1-5 display orange luminescence, rather than red luminescence as in most Sm(III)-containing organic complexes. Three characteristic monochromatic bands and an intense emission, derived from (4)G5/2→(6)HJ (J = 5/2, 7/2, and 9/2) intraconfigurational f-f transitions, were revealed. All these complexes exhibit long luminescence lifetimes.