Raphaël Wietzke and Marinella Mazzanti
Reaction of the tripodal ligand tris(2-benzimidazolylmethyl)amine with lanthanides(III) in the presence of counterions ClO4–, OTf– or Cl– results, even for ligand to metal ratios lower than 2, in the formation of bisligand complexes showing strong p–p interactions between the benzimidazole rings both in solution and in the solid state.