Tetranuclear dysprosium single-molecule magnets: tunable magnetic interactions and magnetization dynamics through modifying coordination number

Modulating magnetic anisotropy in linear tetranuclear dysprosium(III) complexes via coordinated anions

We report the synthesis, structures, and magnetic properties of two novel linear tetranuclear complexes with the general formula [Dy4(Hheb)2(heb)4X2(MeOH)4] (X- = NO3-, OAc-; H2heb = (E)-N'-(1-(2-hydroxyphenyl)ethylidene)benzohydrazide, OAc- = acetate). The rigid ligands (Hheb-/heb2-) incorporate phenoxide groups and bridge the Dy3+ ions in an unusual tetranuclear linear assembly. Notably, we demonstrate through magnetic measurements and theoretical calculations how the anion (X) coordinated at the peripheral Dy3+ centers acts as a switch, significantly changing the magnetic anisotropy of the entire complex. This control over magnetic anisotropy through the selection of the coordinated anion offers a promising avenue for tailoring the functionality of single-molecule magnets.

Structures and Single-Molecule Magnet Behavior of Dy3 and Dy4 Clusters Constructed by Different Dysprosium(III) Salts

Using the Schiff base ligand H2L-pyra (N'-(2-hydroxybenzoyl)pyrazine-2-carbohydrazonamide) with multiple dentate sites, the trinuclear DyIII-based complex [Dy3(HL-pyra)2(L-pyra)2(CH3COO)3]·2H2O (1) was synthesized. By analyzing the fragmented assembly process and fine-tuning the bridging anions, complex [Dy4(HL-pyra)2(L-pyra)4(NO3)2(H2O)2]·8H2O (2) with different nuclear numbers was successfully synthesized. Magnetic studies demonstrated that 1 did not exhibit magnetic relaxation behavior under the external field; however, 2 exhibited zero-field single-molecule magnetic relaxation behavior with an effective energy barrier (Ueff) of 197.44 K. This is attributed to the improved anisotropy of the single ion after the normalization of the crystal structure, thus realizing the molecular magnetic switching. Moreover, magnetic dilution analysis of 2 demonstrated that the weak magnetic interaction between metal ions inhibited the occurrence of quantum tunneling of magnetization (QTM), resulting in high-performance single-molecule magnet (SMM) behavior. The reasons for the magnetic difference between these two complexes were analyzed using ab initio calculation and magneto-structural correlations. This study provides a reasonable prediction of the ideal configuration of the approximately parallelogram DyIII-based SMMs, thus offering an effective approach for synthesizing Dy4 complexes with excellent properties.

Experimental and theoretical investigations on three DyIII4 single molecule magnets: structural and magneto-structural correlations

The work in this report describes the syntheses, crystal structures, dc/ac magnetic behaviour, and theoretical calculations (both ab initio CASSCF and DFT) of three defect dicubane/planar butterfly type tetradysprosium(III) compounds of compositions [Dy^III₄L₄(μ₃-OH)₂(carboxylate)₂(dmf)₂] (carboxylate = formate (1), acetate (2), propionate (3)), where H₂L = 2-(2-hydroxy-3-ethoxybenzylideneamino)phenol. In the butterfly type structures, two Dy^III centres (Dy_b) occupy the body positions while two other (Dy_w) units occupy the wing positions. SHAPE analyses reveal that the coordination geometries of the Dy_b and Dy_w centres, both octacoordinated, are triangular dodecahedron (TDD) and square antiprism (SAPR), respectively. Variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements give an indication of weak antiferromagnetic interactions and variable-field magnetization measurements reveal strong anisotropy in all the three compounds. The variable-temperature/frequency in-phase/out-of-phase AC susceptibility data reveal that all these three compounds are SMMs with two relaxation channels under zero dc field; slow relaxation (SR) and fast relaxation (FR) processes could be assigned to the SAPR (Dy_w) and TDD (Dy_b) metal centres, respectively. The simulated U_eff and τ₀ values are: 49.0 cm^-1 and 1.76 × 10^-7 s for 1, 30.3 cm^-1 and 1.51 × 10^-8 s for 2 and 23.4 cm^-1 and 9.64 × 10^-7 s for 3. Furthermore, ab initio CASSCF/RASSI-SO/SINGLE_ANISO calculations reveal that the ground state of Dy^III centres are axial in nature with a dominating contribution from m_J = |±15/2>. The magnetization relaxation occurs via the first excited KD resulting in the large computed blocking barrier of Dy_w (SAPR) centres compared to that of the Dy_b (TDD) centres which corroborates the experimental measurements. The exchange parameters obtained from DFT calculations are generally in line with those obtained from the fitting of χ_MT vs. T in POLY_ANISO calculations. Interesting structural and magneto-structural correlations have been found, which are the major outcomes of this investigation.

The first exploration of coordination chemistry using a methyl substituted o-vanillin based ligand: an example starting with Dy4/Zn2Dy2 systems displaying slow relaxation of magnetization

Two butterfly-shaped Dy4 and Zn2Dy2 complexes displaying slow relaxation of magnetization have been synthesized from a new methyl substituted o-vanillin based ligand, enlarging the scope for finding better SMMs.

DyIII single-molecule magnets from ligands incorporating both amine and acylhydrazine Schiff base groups: the centrosymmetric {Dy2} displaying dual magnetic relaxation behaviors

The novel multidentate chelating ligands N'-(2-pyridylmethylidene)-2-(2-pyridylmethylideneamino)benzohydrazide (Hpphz) and N'-(2-salicylmethylidene)-2-(2-salicylmethylideneamino)benzohydrazide (H₃sshz), which incorporate both amine and acylhydrazine Schiff base groups, were synthesized and investigated in Dy^III coordination chemistry. The reactions of Hpphz and Dy(OAc)₃·4H₂O have yielded two {Dy₂} featuring double OAc^- bridges: [Dy₂(H₂aphz)₂(OAc)₄(ROH)₂] [R = Me (1) and Et (2)], where the Hpphz ligands were in situ hydrolyzed into 2-amino-(2-pyridylmethylideneamino)benzohydrazide ions (H₂aphz^-). Besides, the reaction between H₃sshz and Dy(NO)₃·6H₂O afforded a [Dy₆(sshz)₄(μ₃-OH)₄(μ₄-O)(MeOH)₄]₂·17.5MeOH·2H₂O cluster (3). This cluster contained two discrete {Dy₆} cores, each of which consisted of a pair of {Dy₃} triangular units. All the complexes displayed a single relaxation process of single-molecule magnet (SMM) behaviors under a zero dc field. Both 1 and 2 showed field-induced dual magnetic-relaxation behaviors. However, their diluted samples (1@Y and 2@Y) only showed one-step relaxation behaviors whether under a zero or applied dc field, indicating that the dual magnetic-relaxation behaviors of 1 and 2 were absent after the dilution. Combined with ab initio calculations, it could be infered that the dual magnetic-relaxation behaviors of 1 and 2 might be ascribled to the joint contributions of the single ion anisotropy and magnetic interactions. Examples of this type are rather rare in previous studies. Ab initio calculations also suggested that the discrepancy between the relaxation processes of 1 and 2 may be caused by the small difference between their magnetic interactions.

Near-infrared luminescence and magnetic properties of dinuclear rare earth complexes modulated by β-diketone co-ligands

The magnetic properties of complexes based on a Schiff base ligand H₂L can be modulated by subtle changes in the coordination environment resulting from changes in the co-ligand substituents.

Phosphonate-assisted tetranuclear lanthanide assemblies: observation of the toroidic ground state in the TbIII analogue

The reaction of LnCl3·6H2O with a multidentate flexible Schiff base ligand (LH4), H2O3PtBu and trifluoroacetic acid (tfaH) afforded a series of homometallic tetranuclear complexes, [Ln4(LH2)2(O3PtBu)2(μ2-η1η1tfa)2][2Cl] (Ln = DyIII (1), TbIII (2) and GdIII (3)). The tetranuclear lanthanide core contains two structurally different lanthanide centres, one being in a distorted trigonal dodecahedron geometry and the other in a distorted trigonal prism. Complexes 1-3 were investigated via direct and alternating current (DC and AC) magnetic susceptibility measurements. Only 1 revealed a weak single-molecule magnet (SMM) behaviour. Alternating current (ac) magnetic susceptibility measurements on 1 reveal a frequency-dependent out-of-phase signal. However, the absence of distinct maxima in the χ'' peak (within the temperature/frequency range of our experiments) prevented deduction of the experimental energy barrier for magnetization reversal (Ueff) and the relaxation time. We have carried out extensive ab initio (CASSCF + RASSI-SO + SINGLE_ANISO + POLY_ANISO) calculations on complexes 1-2 to gain deeper insights into the nature of magnetic anisotropy. Our calculations yielded only one exchange coupling parameter between the two LnIII centres bridged by the ligand (neglecting the exchange between the LnIII centres that are not proximal wrt each other). All the extracted J values indicate a weakly antiferromagnetic coupling between the metal centres (J = -0.025 cm-1 for 1 and J = -0.015 cm-1 for 2). Calculated exchange coupled Ucal values of ∼5 and ∼1 cm-1 in 1 and 2 respectively nicely corroborated the experimental observations regarding weak and no SMM characteristics. Our calculations indicated the presence of a net single-molecule toroidal (SMT) behaviour in complex 2. On the other hand, fitting the magnetic data (susceptibility and magnetization) in the isotropic cluster 3 revealed weak AFM exchange couplings of J1 = 0.025 cm-1 and J2 = -0.020 cm-1 which are consistent with those for GdIII ions.

Dramatic impact of auxiliary ligands on the two-step magnetic relaxation process in Dy4(iii) single-molecule magnets

To better understand the factors determining the multi-step relaxation processes in polynuclear lanthanide single molecule magnets (SMMs), two Dy(iii)4 SMMs showing two-step relaxation processes were elaborately designed and investigated for their structure-dependent magnetic properties. Through targetedly fine-tuning the auxiliary ligand (from the anion of 1-phenylbutane-1,3-dione to 2-acetylcyclopentanone) on specific Dy(iii) sites while retaining the same type of coordination atoms, one of the two relaxation processes shifted to higher temperature with an increase of energy barrier, which permits the unambiguous assignment of the relaxation processes to specific metal sites. Therefore, the present {Dy4} systems provide a good example to probe the factors determining the relaxation dynamics, and point to a simple way to optimize the magnetic performance of polynuclear dysprosium SMMs.

Effect of coordination anion substitutions on relaxation dynamics of defect dicubane Zn2Dy2 tetranuclear clusters

We showcase the coordination anion substitution effect on the relaxation dynamics of defect dicubane Zn₂Dy₂ tetranuclear clusters.

The effect of the orientation of the Jahn–Teller distortion on the magnetic interactions of trinuclear mixed-valence Mn(ii)/Mn(iii) complexes

The effect of the orientation of the Jahn–Teller distortion on the magnetic interactions in two new mixed-valence trinuclear Mn(iii)–Mn(ii)–Mn(iii) complexes has been investigated.

Linear-shaped LnIII4 and LnIII6 clusters constructed by a polydentate Schiff base ligand and a β-diketone co-ligand: structures, fluorescence properties, magnetic refrigeration and single-molecule magnet behavior

A series of linear-shaped LnIII4 and LnIII6 clusters were synthesized. The structures, fluorescence properties and magnetic properties have been deeply studied.

Rationally assembled nonanuclear lanthanide clusters: Dy9 displays slow relaxation of magnetization and Tb9 serves as luminescent sensor for Fe3+, CrO42− and Cr2O72−

The utilization of a Schiff base ligand 2-((2-hydroxy-4-methoxy-benzylideneamino)methyl)phenol (H₂L) afforded five nonanuclear lanthanide(iii) clusters. Dy₉ displays slow relaxation of magnetization and Tb₉ serves as luminescent sensor for Fe³⁺, CrO₄²⁻ and Cr₂O₇²⁻.

Structures, fluorescence properties and magnetic properties of a series of rhombus-shaped LnIII4 clusters: magnetocaloric effect and single-molecule-magnet behavior

A family LnIII4 clusters were successfully synthesized and structurally characterized. Magnetic studies show that Gd₄ cluster displays magnetic refrigeration, while Dy₄ cluster demonstrates two distinct slow magnetic relaxation processes.