Self-Assembly of Luminescent Lanthanide Mesocates as Efficient Catalysts for Transforming Carbon Dioxide into Cyclic Carbonates.

Four dinuclear lanthanide mesocates were fabricated through a spontaneous self-assembly method, and the formation of these complexes was well studied by their absorption and emission spectra. These stable complexes were also found to exhibit superior performance in catalyzing the coupling reaction between epoxides and CO2 with excellent recyclability. Moreover, the catalysts could be prepared on large scale. Moreover, the Yb and Lu complexes featured emissions in the near-infrared and visible regions, respectively, and their intensities and lifetimes could be used for identification purposes. Thus, this new approach can be used to construct promising lanthanide complexes as efficient catalysts and it identifies the possibility to better study a catalytic reaction with a luminescent catalyst.