Hierarchical Multi-Component Self-Assembly Involving Alkali and Lanthanide(III) Metal Ions and Water Soluble Sulfonated Calix[4]arene

Solid state structural studies of three supramolecular coordination complexes establish the formation of hetero-bimetallic two- and three-dimensional ensembles involving sulfonated calix[4]arene, and sodium ions and low nuclearity lanthanide(III) ions. The interplay of components is altered in response to the addition of different auxiliary molecules during crystallisation which is associated with significant changes in the metal coordination environments and overall molecular packing, as established in comparing the structures of complexes of similar cell dimensions with those available in the literature. The sulfonated calixarene form a common self-assembly array despite different lanthanides being incorporated, as an isostructural series of complexes. Crystallographic analysis shows a continually decreasing trend in the lanthanide–oxygen bond length as the lanthanide atomic number increases. As smaller molecules are incorporated to the hetero-bimetallic calixarene system, the self-assembly and the metal coordination environment are perturbed.