Abstract A new series of tripods were designed to form anion-responsive, luminescent lanthanide complexes. These tripods contain pyridine, thiazole, pyrazine, or quinoline chromophores combined with amide carbonyl oxygen and tertiary nitrogen atoms. Crystallographic and EXAFS studies of the 10-coordinated tripod–La (NO 3) 3 complexes revealed that each La 3+ cation was cooperatively coordinated by one tetradentate tripod ...