The sensitivity of the lehn cryptand—europium and terbium (III) complexes to anions compared to a coordinatively saturated systems

Titrations of the Lehn cryptand [Ln⊂bpy.bpy.bpy]3+ complexes of both europium (III) and terbium (III) with fluoride and phosphate ions indicate that these anions displace water from the solvation sphere. In the case of the europium complex an enhancement of luminescence intensity is observed, whilst with the terbium complex a reduction in the emission intensity occurs. Described are the preparations of analogous, coordinatively saturated complexes that are inert to the influence of these anions.