Dysprosium-based complexes with a flat pentadentate donor: a magnetic and ab initio study

Halide mediated modulation of magnetic interaction and anisotropy in dimeric Co(II) complexes

The burgeoning interest in the field of molecular magnetism is to perceive the high magnetic anisotropy in different geometries of metal complexes and hence to draw a magneto-structural correlation. Despite a handful of examples to exemplify the magnetic anisotropy in various coordination geometries of mononuclear complexes, the magnetic anisotropies for two different coordination geometries are underexplored. Employing an appropriate synthetic strategy utilizing the ligand LH2 [2,2'-{(1E,1'E)-pyridine2,6-diyl-bis(methaneylylidine)}-bis(azaneylylidine)diphenol] and cobalt halide salts in a 1 : 2 stoichiometric ratio in the presence of triethylamine allowed us to report a new family of dinuclear cobalt complexes [CoII2X2(L)(P)(Q)]·S with varying terminal halides [X = Cl, P = CH3CN, Q = H2O, S = H2O (1), X = Br, P = CH3CN, Q = H2O, S = H2O (2), X = I, P = CH3CN, and Q = CH3CN (3)]. All these complexes are characterized through single crystal X-ray crystallography, which reveals their crystallization in the monoclinic system P21/n space group with nearly identical structural features. These complexes share vital components, including Co(II) centers, a fully deprotonated ligand [L]2-, halide ions, and solvent molecules. The [L]2- ligand contains two Co(II) centers, where phenolate oxygen atoms bridge the Co(II) centers, forming a Co2O2 four-membered ring. Co1 demonstrates a distorted pentagonal-bipyramidal geometry with axial positions for solvent molecules, while Co2 displays a distorted tetrahedral geometry involving phenolate oxygen atoms and halide ions. Temperature-dependent dc magnetic susceptibility measurements were conducted on 1-3 within a range of 2 to 300 K at 1 kOe. The χmT vs. T plots exhibit similar trends, with χmT values at 300 K higher than the spin-only value, signifying a significant orbital contribution. As the temperature decreases, χmT decreases smoothly in all the complexes; however, no clear saturation at low temperatures is observed. Field-dependent magnetization measurements indicate a rapid increase below 20 kOe, with no hysteresis and a low magnetic blocking temperature. DFT and CASSCF/NEVPT2 theoretical calculations were performed to perceive the magnetic interaction and single-ion anisotropies of Co(II) ions in various ligand-field environments.

Dy4, Dy5, and Ho2 Complexes of an N3O2 Aminophenol Donor: A Dy5-µ3-Peroxide Single Molecule Magnet

The reactivity of the new flexible potentially pentadentate N₃O₂ aminophenol ligand H₄L^r (2,2'-((pyridine-2,6-diylbis(methylene))bis(azanediyl))diphenol) towards different dysprosium salts and holmium(III) nitrate was investigated. Accordingly, this reactivity seems to greatly depend on the metal ion and salt employed. In this way, the reaction of H₄L^r with dysprosium(III) chloride in air leads to the oxo-bridged tetranuclear complex [Dy₄(H₂L^r)₃(Cl)₄(μ₃-O)(EtOH)₂(H₂O)₂]·2EtOH·H₂O (1·2EtOH·H₂O), while the same reaction just changing the chloride salt by the nitrate one renders the peroxo-bridged pentanuclear compound [Dy₅(H₂L^r)₂(H_2.5L^r)₂(NO₃)₄(µ₃-O₂)₂]·2H₂O (2·2H₂O), where both peroxo ligands seem to come from the fixation and reduction of atmospheric oxygen. However, if holmium(III) nitrate is used instead of dysprosium(III) nitrate, no evidence of a peroxide ligand is observed, and the dinuclear complex {[Ho₂(H₂L^r)(H₃L^r)(NO₃)₂(H₂O)₂](NO₃)} 2.5H₂O (3·2.5H₂O) is isolated. The three complexes were unequivocally characterized by X-ray diffraction techniques, and their magnetic properties were analyzed. Thus, while the Dy₄ and Ho₂ complexes do not show magnet-like behavior even in the presence of an external magnetic field, 2·2H₂O is a single molecule magnet, with an U_eff barrier of 61.2 K (43.2 cm^-1). This is the first homonuclear lanthanoid peroxide SMM, which also shows the highest barrier among the reported 4f/3d peroxide zero field SMMs to date.

Dinuclear Fluoride Single-Bridged Lanthanoid Complexes as Molecule Magnets: Unprecedented Coupling Constant in a Fluoride-Bridged Gadolinium Compound

A new synthetic method allows isolating fluoride-bridged complexes Bu₄N{[M(3NO₂,5Br-H₃L^1,1,4)]₂(μ-F)} (M = Dy, 1; M = Ho, 2; M = Gd, 3) and Bu₄N{[Dy(3Br,5Cl-H₃L^1,2,4)]₂(μ-F)}·2H₂O, 4·2H₂O. The crystal structures of 1·5CH₃C₆H₅,·2·2H₂O·0.75THF, 3, and 4·2H₂O·2THF show that all of them are dinuclear compounds with linear single fluoride bridges and octacoordinated metal centers. Magnetic susceptibility measurements in the temperature range of 2–300 K reveal that the Gd^III ions in 3 are weakly antiferromagnetically coupled, and this constitutes the first crystallographically and magnetically analyzed gadolinium complex with a fluoride bridge. Variable-temperature magnetization demonstrates a poor magnetocaloric effect for 3. Alternating current magnetic measurements for 1, 2, and 4·2H₂O bring to light that 4·2H₂O is an SMM, 1 shows an SMM-like behavior under a magnetic field of 600 Oe, while 2 does not show relaxation of the magnetization even under an applied magnetic field. In spite of this, 2 is the first fluoride-bridged holmium complex magnetically analyzed. DFT and ab initio calculations support the experimental magnetic results and show that apparently small structural differences between 1 and 4·2H₂O introduce important changes in the dipolar interactions, from antiferromagnetic in 1 to ferromagnetic in 4·2H₂O.

Dinuclear linear fluoride single-bridged Dy^III, Ho^III, and Gd^III complexes are systematically obtained from mononuclear aquo-complexes, with the Dy^III ones showing slow relaxation of the magnetization and the Gd^III one revealing a weak AF coupling through the Gd−F−Gd bridge.

Eight coordinated mononuclear dysprosium complexes of heptadentate aminophenol ligands: the influence of the phenol substituents and the ancillary donors on the magnetic relaxation

The mononuclear complexes [Dy(3Br,5Cl-H₃L^1,1,4)(D)]·solvate (D = H₂O, solvate = 0.25MeOH, 1W·0.25MeOH; D = Py without solvate, 1Py), and [Dy(3NO₂,5Br-H₃L^1,1,4)(H₂O)] (2W) were isolated. The crystal structures of 1W·0.25MeOH, 1Py and 2W·2CH₃C₆H₅ show that the Dy^III ion is octacoordinated, in N₄O₄ or N₅O₃ environments, with distorted geometries, between square antiprism, biaugmented trigonal prism and triangular dodecahedral. A similar environment for the metal ion is shown in the chiral crystals of the diamagnetic yttrium analogue [Y(3Br,5Cl-H₃L^1,1,4)(MeOH)] (3M), which were spontaneously resolved. Magnetic analyses of the three dysprosium complexes, and their diluted analogous 1W@Y, 1Py@Y and 2W@Y, reveal that none of them seem to relax through an Orbach mechanism at H_dc = 0. However, the three complexes show Orbach relaxation under H_dc = 1000 Oe, and 1Py is the in-field SIM with the highest energy barrier among these complexes, with a U_eff value of 358 K. Analysis of ac magnetic data shows that the electron-withdrawing substituents on the phenol rings of the aminophenol ligands, as well as the auxiliary oxygen donors from water ligands, reduce the energy barriers of the complexes, which is attributed to a charge reduction in the coordinating atoms of the aminophenol donor. Ab initio calculations support the experimental results.

Slow magnetic relaxation in dinuclear dysprosium and holmium phenoxide bridged complexes: a Dy2 single molecule magnet with a high energy barrier

High axiality in double unsupported phenoxide-bridged Dy^III and Ho^III complexes promotes slow relaxation of magnetisation and high U_eff of the dysprosium derivative.

Field-induced slow magnetic relaxation and luminescence thermometry in a mononuclear ytterbium complex

A mononuclear pentagonal bipyramidal Yb^III complex functions as a field-induced SIM luminescent thermometer.