High-Frequency and -Field Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopic Analysis of Metal–Ligand Covalency in a 4f7Valence Series (Eu2+, Gd3+, and Tb4+)

The recent isolation of molecular tetravalent lanthanide complexes has enabled renewed exploration of the effect of oxidation state on the single-ion properties of the lanthanide ions. Despite the isotropic nature of the 8S ground state in a tetravalent terbium complex, [Tb(NP(1,2-bis-tBu-diamidoethane)(NEt2))4], preliminary X-band electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) measurements on tetravalent terbium complexes show rich spectra with broad resonances. The complexity of these spectra highlights the limits of conventional X-band EPR for even qualitative determination of zero-field splitting (ZFS) in these complexes. Therefore, we report the synthesis and characterization of a novel valence series of 4f7molecular complexes spanning three oxidation states (Eu2+, Gd3+, and Tb4+) featuring a weak-field imidophosphorane ligand system, and employ high-frequency and -field electron paramagnetic resonance (HFEPR) to obtain quantitative values for ZFS across this valence series. The series was designed to minimize deviation in the first coordination sphere from the pseudotetrahedral geometry in order to directly interrogate the role of metal identity and charge on the complexes’ electronic structures. These HFEPR studies are supported by crystallographic analysis and quantum-chemical calculations to assess the relative covalent interactions in each member of this valence series and the effect of the oxidation state on the splitting of the ground state and first excited state.