A macrocyclic tetraamine bearing four phenol groups: a new class of heptadentate ligands to provide an oxygen-sensitive luminescent Tb(iii) complex with an extendable phenol pendant arm

This paper presents a 1,4,7,10-teraazacyclododecane-based tetrakis-phenol as a protonated ligand precursor and its oxygen-sensitive luminescent terbium(iii) complex with an extendable phenol pendant arm (Φ = 0.91 under N₂, Φ = 0.031 under air), in which the potentially N₄O₄-octadentate ligand unprecedentedly coordinates to the Tb³⁺ ion in a N₄O₃-heptadentate fashion.