Synthesis, Structure, and Spectroscopic and Electrochemical Properties of Heteroleptic Bis(phthalocyaninato) Rare Earth Complexes with a C 4 Symmetry

A series of eleven heteroleptic bis(phthalocyaninato) rare earth double‐deckers [M III (pc){pc( α ‐OC 5 H 11 ) 4 }] 1 – 11 (M=Y, SmLu; pc=phthalocyaninato; pc( α ‐OC 5 H 11 ) 4 =1,8,15,22‐tetrakis(1‐ethylpropoxy)phthalocyaninato) were prepared as racemic mixtures by [M III (pc)(acac)]‐induced (acac=acetylacetonato) cyclic tetramerization of 3‐(1‐ethylpropoxy)phthalonitrile in the presence of 1,8‐diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec‐7‐ene (DBU) in refluxing pentanol. These compounds could also be prepared by treating [M III (pc)(acac)] with the metal‐free phthalocyanine H 2 {pc( α ‐OC 5 H 11 ) 4 } in refluxing octanol. The whole series of double‐decker complexes 1 – 11 were characterized by elemental analysis and various spectroscopic methods. The molecular structures of the Sm, Eu, and Er complexes 1, 2 , and 8 , respectively, were also determined by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction analysis. The effects of the rare earth ion size on the reaction yield, molecular structure, and spectroscopic and electrochemical properties of these complexes were systematically examined.