Heterometallic lanthanide complexes, especially with specific metal arrays, are attracting special attention due to their unusual physical properties, which have found many applications in various fields, including high-performance molecular optical/magnetic devices and multifunctional probes for bioassays and bioimaging. However, due to the similar chemical properties of lanthanide ions, their construction is still challenging. Here, we report a new modular approach for the facile and efficient preparation of sequence-specific heterometallic lanthanide-complex-based dendritic architectures, which are termed as sequence-controlled heterolayered lanthanide-ligand structures (SHELLs). As a demonstration, a series of SHELLs containing desired lanthanide chelates with designed sequences are quickly synthesized by iterative covalent linking and extensively characterized with various instruments. The special optical and/or magnetic features of these dendritic structures implicate their promising potential as multifunctional agents. Our study underlines the bright prospective of SHELLs and the substantial significance of this modular strategy for the development of well-ordered giant heterometallic architectures.

异金属镧系元素配合物，尤其是具有特定金属阵列的配合物，由于其不同寻常的物理特性而受到特别关注，这些配合物在各个领域都有许多应用，包括用于生物测定和生物成像的高性能分子光/磁器件和多功能探针。然而，由于镧系离子的化学性质相似，它们的构建仍然具有挑战性。在这里，我们报告了一种新的模块化方法，用于轻松有效地制备基于序列特异性的异金属镧系元素配合物的树枝状结构，称为序列控制的异层镧系元素配体结构 (SHELL)。作为示范，通过迭代共价连接快速合成一系列含有所需镧系元素螯合物的SHELLs，并用各种仪器进行广泛表征。这些树枝状结构的特殊光学和/或磁性特征暗示了它们作为多功能试剂的潜力。我们的研究强调了 SHELL 的光明前景以及这种模块化策略对于开发有序的巨型异金属结构的重大意义。