Syntheses and structural analyses of four isostructural lanthanide dimers derived from thiourea-based carboxylato ligands

► Four Eu, Sm, Tb and Dy complexes are isostructural dimmers. ► 2-(3-benzoylthioureido)ethanoic acid and phen react with lanthanide ions in solution. ► The four complexes present similar themostabilities. ► The four complexes show characteristic photoluminescence emission of lanthanide ions.