Lanthanide-nitrogen-rich supramolecular complexes (La Ce Pr): Synthesis, structure, and catalysis for ammonium perchlorate

Three novel lanthanide-nitrogen-rich supramolecular complexes with similar structures and performance, namely, [La(BTF)₂(H₂O)₅]_n, [Ce(BTF)₂(H₂O)₅]_n and [Pr(BTF)₂(H₂O)₅]_n, were synthesized via the hydrothermal method. The crystal structures of these complexes were determined via single-crystal X-ray diffraction, and results show that abundant hydrogen bonds provide good thermal stability for the metal complexes (T_dec ​> ​550 ​K). The catalytic effect of complexes on ammonium perchlorate (AP) was examined via differential thermal analysis (DTA), which results validate the outstanding catalytic effect of these complexes on AP. After adding 10 ​wt% complexes, the high-temperature decomposition (HTD) peak of AP can be increased by 90 ​K ​at most, and the activation energy is reduced by approximately 70 ​kJ ​mol ^-1 to 150 ​kJ ​mol ^-1. Other properties are fully characterized via elemental analysis and FT-IR spectroscopy.