Delayed lanthanide luminescence sensing of aromatic carboxylates using heptadentate triamide Tb(III) cyclen complexes: the recognition of salicylic acid in water
The coordinately unsaturated terbium complexes Tb.1 and Tb.2 possess two labile metal-bound water molecules that can be displaced upon metal chelation to aromatic carboxylic anions such as salicylic acid in water, which gives rise to large enhancements in the Tb(III) luminescence.