Ionothermal Synthesis, Crystal Structure and Antibacterial Activities of a New 3d-4f Hetero-metallic Compound Containing Two Kinds of Ligands

A new 3d-4f (Cu-II-Ce-III) hetero-metallic compound containing two kinds of ligands, namely [Cu-II(H(2)pdc)(phen)(H2O)](H3O)(2)[Ce-III(pdc)(3)][Cu-II(phen)Ce-III(pdc)(3)] (1, H(2)pdc = pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylic acid, phen = 1,10-phenanthroline), has been synthesized by an ionothermal method using the ionic liquid 3-butyl-1-methylimidazolium bromide ([Bmim]Er) as solvent, and characterized by elemental analysis, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), IR, XPS and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The structure reveals that 1 belongs to the triclinic system, space group P (1) over bar with a = 12.044(7), b = 14.841(8), c = 22.305(13) angstrom, alpha = 85.802(12), beta = 85.471(12), gamma = 89.174(11)degrees, Z= 2, V= 3964(4) angstrom(3), D-c= 1.804 g.cm(-3), F(000) = 2140, mu = 1.757 mm(-1), the final R= 0.0734, wR= 0.1094 and S = 1.013. The compound can be viewed as a two-dimensional layered structure composed by 3d-4f hetero-nuclear anions [Cu(phen)Ce(pdc)(3)](-), coordination cations [Cu(H(2)pdc)(phen)(H2O)](2+), coordination anions [Ce(pdc)(3)](3-) and protonated water molecules via hydrogen bonding interactions and pi-pi stacking. Moreover, the antimicrobial activities of 1 have been also investigated. The results indicated that its inhibitory activity is slightly higher than that of penicillin against Candida albicans.