Anion dependant self-assembly and the first X-ray structure of a neutral homoleptic lanthanide salen complex Tb(4)(salen)(6)

Reaction of H(2)salen (H(2)L)with Tb(OAc)(3)center dot 4H(2)O (3 : 2) in MeOH-MeCN under reflux gave homoleptic Tb(4)L(6) (1) in 40% yield; in contrast, similar reactions of Tb(NO(3))(3)center dot 6H(2)O and LnCl(3)center dot 6H(2)O (Ln = Tb, Nd and Yb) gave [TbL(NO(3))(MeOH)](2)(mu-H(2)L) (2) and [LnL(Cl)(MeOH)](2)(mu-H(2)L) (Ln = Tb (3), Nd (4) and Yb (5); H(2)L = N, N'-ethylenebis(salicylideneimine)).