Bulky ligands shape the separation between the large spin carriers to condition field-induced slow magnetic relaxation

Site Selectivity for the Spin States and Spin Crossover in Undecanuclear Heterometallic Cyanido-Bridged Clusters

Polynuclear molecular clusters offer an opportunity to design new hierarchical switchable materials with collective properties, based on variation of the chemical composition, size, shapes, and overall building blocks organization. In this study, we rationally designed and constructed an unprecedented series of cyanido-bridged nanoclusters realizing new undecanuclear topology: Fe^II[Fe^II(bzbpen)]₆[W^V(CN)₈]₂[W^IV(CN)₈]₂·18MeOH (1), Na^I[Co^II(bzbpen)]₆[W^V(CN)₈]₃[W^IV(CN)₈]·28MeOH (2), Na^I[Ni^II(bzbpen)]₆[W^V(CN)₈]₃[W^IV(CN)₈]·27MeOH (3), and Co^II[Co^II(R/S-pabh)₂]₆[W^V(CN)₈]₂[W^IV(CN)₈]₂·26MeOH [4R and 4S; bzbpen = N¹,N²-dibenzyl-N¹,N²-bis(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)ethane-1,2-diamine; R/S-pabh = (R/S)-N-(1-naphthyl)-1-(pyridin-2-yl)methanimine], of size up to 11 nm³, ca. 2.0 × 2.2 × 2.5 nm (1-3) and ca. 1.4 × 2.5 × 2.5 nm (4). 1, 2, and 4 exhibit site selectivity for the spin states and spin transition related to the structural speciation based on subtle exogenous and endogenous effects imposed on similar but distinguishable 3d metal-ion-coordination moieties. 1 exhibits a mid-temperature-range spin-crossover (SCO) behavior that is more advanced than the previously reported SCO clusters based on octacyanidometallates and an onset of SCO behavior close to room temperature. The latter feature is also present in 2 and 4, which suggests the emergence of Co^II-centered SCO not observed in previous bimetallic cyanido-bridged Co^II-W^V/IV systems. In addition, reversible switching of the SCO behavior in 1 via a single-crystal-to-single-crystal transformation during desolvation was also documented.

Near-Infrared Emissive Cyanido-Bridged {YbFe2} Molecular Nanomagnets Sensitive to the Nitrile Solvents of Crystallization

One of the pathways toward luminescent single-molecule magnets (SMMs) is realized by the self-assembly of lanthanide(3+) ions with cyanido transition metal complexes. We report a novel family of emissive SMMs, {YbIII(4-pyridone)4[FeII(phen)2(CN)2]2}(CF3SO3)3·solv (solv = 2MeCN, 1·MeCN; 2AcrCN, 1·AcrCN; 2PrCN, 1·PrCN; 2MalCN·1MeOH; 1·MalCN; MeCN = acetonitrile, AcrCN = acrylonitrile, PrCN = propionitrile, MalCN = malononitrile). They are based on paramagnetic YbIII centers coordinating diamagnetic [FeII(phen)2(CN)2] metalloligands but differ in the nitrile solvents of crystallization. They exhibit a field-induced slow magnetic relaxation dominated by a Raman process, without an Orbach relaxation as indicated by AC magnetic data and the ab initio calculations. The Raman relaxation is solvent-dependent as represented by the power “n” of the BRamanTn contribution varying from 3.07(1), to 2.61(1), 2.37(1), and 1.68(4) for 1·MeCN, 1·PrCN, 1·AcrCN, and 1·MalCN, respectively, while the BRaman parameter adopts the opposite trend. This was correlated with the variation of phonon modes schemes, including the number of available vibrational modes and their energies, dependent on the increasing complexity of the applied nitrile. 1·MeCN and 1·MalCN show the additional T-independent relaxation assignable to dipole-dipole interactions as confirmed by its suppression in 1·AcrCN and 1·PrCN revealing longer Yb–Yb distances and the disappearance in the LuIII-diluted 1·MeCN@Lu. All compounds exhibit YbIII–centered near-infrared photoluminescence sensitized by organic ligands.

Octacyanidometallates for multifunctional molecule-based materials

Octacyanidometallates have been successfully employed in the design of heterometallic coordination systems offering a spectacular range of desired physical properties with great potential for technological applications. The [M(CN)8]n- ions comprise a series of complexes of heavy transition metals in high oxidation states, including NbIV, MoIV/V, WIV/V, and ReV. Since the discovery of the pioneering bimetallic {MnII4[MIV(CN)8]2} and {MnII9[MV(CN)8]6} (M = Mo, W) molecules in 2000, octacyanidometallates were fruitfully explored as precursors for the construction of diverse d-d or d-f coordination clusters and frameworks which could be obtained in the crystalline form under mild synthetic conditions. The primary interest in [M(CN)8]n--based networks was focused on their application as molecule-based magnets exhibiting long-range magnetic ordering resulting from the efficient intermetallic exchange coupling mediated by cyanido bridges. However, in the last few years, octacyanidometallate-based materials proved to offer varied and remarkable functionalities, becoming efficient building blocks for the construction of molecular nanomagnets, magnetic coolers, spin transition materials, photomagnets, solvato-magnetic materials, including molecular magnetic sponges, luminescent magnets, chiral magnets and photomagnets, SHG-active magnetic materials, pyro- and ferroelectrics, ionic conductors as well as electrochemical containers. Some of these materials can be processed into the nanoscale opening the route towards the development of magnetic, optical and electronic devices. In this review, we summarise all important achievements in the field of octacyanidometallate-based functional materials, with the particular attention to the most recent advances, and present a thorough discussion on non-trivial structural and electronic features of [M(CN)8]n- ions, which are purposefully explored to introduce desired physical properties and their combinations towards advanced multifunctional materials.

Structural Disorder in High-Spin {CoII9WV6} (Core)-[Pyridine N-Oxides] (Shell) Architectures

The combinations of Co(II), octacyanidotungstate(V), and monodentate pyridine N-oxide (pyNO) or 4-phenylpyridine N-oxide (4-phpyNO) led to crystallization of novel crystalline phases {Co^II[Co^II₈(pyNO)₁₂(MeOH)₁₂][W^V(CN)₈]₆} (1) and {Co^II[Co^II₈(4-phpyNO)₇(MeOH)₁₇][W^V(CN)₈]₆}·7MeOH·(4-phpyNO)₃ (2). In both architectures, metal-cyanide clusters are coordinated by N-oxide ligands in a simple monodentate manner to give the spherical objects of over 1 nm core diameter and about 2.2 nm (1) and 3 nm (2) of the total diameter, terminated with the aromatic rings. The supramolecular architecture is dominated by dense and rich π-π interaction systems. Both structures are characterized by a significant structural disorder in ligand shell, described with the suitable probability models. For 1, the π-π interactions between the pyNO ligands attached to the same metal centers are suggested for the first time. In 2, 4-phpyNO acts as monodentate ligand and as the crystallization molecule. Magnetic studies indicate the high-spin ground state due to the ferromagnetic interactions Co(II)-W(V) through the cyanido bridges. Due to the high symmetry of the clusters, no signature of slow magnetic relaxation was observed. The characterization is completed by solid-state IR and UV-Vis-NIR spectroscopy. The conditions for the stable M₉M'₆-based crystals formation are synthetically discussed in terms of the type of capping ligands: monodentate, bridging, and chelating. The potential of the related polynuclear forms toward the magnetism-based functional properties is critically indicated.

Tuning slow magnetic relaxation behaviour in a {Dy2}-based one-dimensional chain via crystal field perturbation

Two novel {Dy₂}-based one dimensional chain compounds {[Dy₂(H₃L)₄(OAc)₆]·2MeOH}_n (1) and {[Dy₂(H₃L)₄(OAc)₄(NCS)₂]·2MeOH}_n (2) (H₃L = 1,3-bis(2-hydroxynaphthalenemethyleneamino)-propan-2-ol) have been prepared under solvothermal conditions. Crystal structure analyses indicate that 1 and 2 feature similar 1D chain structures bearing dinuclear secondary building units. The difference between these two structures is that one chelated acetate ligand of Dy(iii) ion in 1 is replaced by one monodentate coordinated NCS⁻ ion in 2, leading to their different coordination numbers and geometry configurations to Dy(iii) ion. Magnetic properties indicate that 1 and 2 display slow magnetic relaxation behavior with an effective energy barrier of 16.44(2) K in 1 and 8.02(2) K in 2, respectively, which is maybe attributed to the subtle crystal field perturbation of Dy(iii) ions.

Two novel {Dy₂}-based one dimensional chain compounds with similar structures have been prepared and subtle crystal field of Dy(iii) ion can perturb their slow magnetic relaxation behaviors.