A crystalline 14-metal Zn–Nd cluster [Zn6Nd8L2(OAc)20(O)2(NO3)4(OC2H5)4] (1) was constructed using a flexible Schiff base ligand with long-chain (CH2)2O(CH2)2O(CH2)2 backbone. 1 exhibits a nanoscale rectangular structure (10 × 14 × 18 Å). Besides the visible ligand-centered emission, 1 displays typical NIR luminescence of Nd3+. Interestingly, 1 shows both a ligand-centered and lanthanide fluorescence response towards metal ions, especially to K+ and Co2+ at the ppm level.
