Intramolecular C—F→Ln dative interactions in lanthanide complexes with fluorinated ligands

Abstract

Complexes reported in the literature and potentially capable of intramolecular C—F→Ln interactions were analyzed. It was proposed to use the ToposPro software for structural and topological analysis to search for intramolecular C—F→Ln interactions. The shortest detected Ln···F contact amounted to 2.374 Å, while the longest weak non-valence contact was 4.060 Å. For all lanthanide complexes with Ln···F distances shorter than 3.447 Å, only strong intramolecular (valence) interactions between these atoms were observed. These interactions can affect the physicochemical properties of complexes and they are to be taken into account in determination of the coordination environment of lanthanide atoms.