Unravelling the complexities of pseudocontact shift analysis in lanthanide coordination complexes of differing symmetry

In two closely related series of eight-coordinate lanthanide complexes, a switch in the sign of the dominant ligand field parameter and striking variations in the sign, amplitude and orientation of the main component of the magnetic susceptibility tensor as the Ln${}^{3+}$ ion is permuted conspire to mask modest changes in NMR paramagnetic shifts, but are evident in Yb EPR and Eu emission spectra. (© 2019 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)