A novel erbium material with a fascinated mercury bromide cluster (Hg11Br34)12– anion: synthesis and characterization

A novel erbium material with a fascinated mercury bromide cluster (Hg11Br34)12– anion, i.e., {[Er2(H2O)4(HIA)6]2n}(nHg11Br34)(nHgBr2)·4nH2O (denoted as 1 and HIA indicates the isonicotinic acid molecule), was successfully synthesized from a solvothermal reactor. Its single crystal structure was determined by single-crystal and powder X-ray diffractions. The Er3+ ions have a distorted square antiprism motif, and they are connected by isonicotinic acid molecules to yield a one-dimensional (1-D) chain. The Hg2+ ions show two or four coordination motifs. This compound contains an unprecedented mercury bromide cluster (Hg11Br34)12– anion. This compound shows upconversion green photoluminescence emission with a CIE (Commission Internationale de I'Eclairage) chromaticity coordinates at (0.1749, 0.4351). It has a wide band gap of 3.24 eV. A novel erbium material with a fascinated mercury bromide cluster (Hg11Br34)12– anion was reported. The Er3+ ions have a distorted square antiprism motif and the compound features a 1-D chain-like structure. The Hg2+ ions show two or four coordination motifs. It features upconversion green emission with CIE coordinates 0.1749 and 0.4351. It has a wide band gap of 3.24 eV.