A Mixed‐Ligand Approach for a Gigantic and Hollow Heterometallic Cage {Ni 64 RE 96 } for Gas Separation and Magnetic Cooling Applications

Heterometallic Gd-Dy Formate Frameworks for Enhanced Magnetocaloric Properties

Lanthanide-based metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have great potential as magnetic refrigerants under cryogenic conditions and are comparable to conventional alloys and magnetic nanoparticles. In particular, MOFs with Gd³⁺ ions behave as excellent magnetic refrigerants because of their large spin ground states. However, the major drawback of Gd³⁺-based MOFs is that they are not affected by the ligand material owing to the excessively large spin-only magnetic moment; therefore, their application is limited to the cryogenic region in the magnetic cooling field. In this study, we report the magnetic properties and magnetocaloric effect (MCE) resulting from heterogenized MOFs obtained from the reaction of Gd³⁺ and Dy³⁺ ions and their varied molar composition with the formate ligand. For Gd_xDy_1-x-(HCOO)₃, where 0 ≤ x ≤ 1, the isothermal magnetic entropy change (ΔS_m) increased with the increase in the fraction of Gd in the heterogenized MOFs. Meanwhile, with increasing Dy contents, the maximum peak temperature of ΔS_m is shifted to a higher temperature while preserving a relatively high ΔS_m value of 22.35 J·kg^-1 K^-1 at T = 7 K for an applied field change (ΔH) of 7 T despite the anisotropy and crystalline electric field effects. Furthermore, it was confirmed that the samples with a Dy content of 75% or more maintained the ΔS_m operating temperature longer. Therefore, the current approach of including Dy³⁺ ions in lanthanide compounds provides the possibility of further extending the operating temperature of magnetic cooling materials from cryogenic temperatures.

Nanoscale Organolanthanum Clusters: Nuclearity-Directing Role of Cyclopentadienyl and Halogenido Ligands

Tetramethylaluminato/halogenido(X) ligand exchange reactions in half-sandwich complexes [CpR La(AlMe4 )2 ] are feasible in non-coordinating solvents and provide access to large coordination clusters of the type [CpR LaX2 ]x . Incomplete exchange reactions generate the hexalanthanum clusters [CpR 6 La6 X8 (AlMe4 )4 ] (CpR =Cp*=C5 Me5 , X=I; CpR =Cp'=C5 H4 SiMe3 , X=Br, I). Treatment of [Cp*La(AlMe4 )2 ] with two equivalents Me3 SiI gave the nonalanthanum cluster [Cp*LaI2 ]9 , while the exhaustive reaction of [Cp'La(AlMe4 )2 ] with the halogenido transfer reagents Me3 GeX and Me3 SiX (X=I, Br, Cl) produced a series of monocyclopentadienyl rare-earth-metal clusters with distinct nuclearity. Depending on the halogenido ion size the homometallic clusters [Cp'LaCl2 ]10 and [Cp'LaX2 ]12 (X=Br, I) could be isolated, whereas different crystallization techniques led to the aggregation of clusters of distinct structural motifs, including the desilylated cyclopentadienyl-bridged cluster [(μ-Cp)2 Cp'8 La8 I14 ] and the heteroaluminato derivative [Cp'10 La10 Br18 (AlBr2 Me2 )2 ]. The use of the Cp' ancillary ligand facilitates cluster characterization by means of NMR spectroscopy.