Slow Magnetic Relaxation in Unprecedented Mono-Dimensional Coordination Polymer of Ytterbium Involving Tetrathiafulvalene-Dicarboxylate Linker

Novel stable ytterbium acetylacetonate-quinaldinate complexes as single-molecule magnets and surprisingly efficient luminophores

The first Yb complexes comprising a quinoline-2-carboxylate (quinaldinate, Q-) ligand, namely 1D-polymeric [Yb(acac)2(Q)]n (1, acac- is the acetylacetonate (pentane-2,4-dionate) anion) and mononuclear [Yb(acac)2(Q)(Phen)] (2, Phen is 1,10-phenanthroline), are reported. The bifunctionality of both complexes as field-induced single-molecule magnets (SMMs) and near IR luminophores has been revealed. The SMM properties of 1 and 2 have been discussed in terms of the geometry and composition of the coordination environment. Also, 1 is the first example of 1D-polymeric SMMs with the capped octahedral surrounding of Yb3+. The photoluminescence quantum yields (PLQYs) of 1 and 2 are 2 and 4%, respectively. The origins of this difference are discussed. Surprisingly, the PLQY value of 2 is high for compounds comprising a lot of C-H vibrational quenchers, being the highest one for reliably characterized Yb β-diketonate complexes, and surpassing those for complexes with a broad range of anionic ligands. In this respect, the role of the Phen ligand is to tune the coordination mode of Q- thereby decreasing the energy of coordinating C-O oscillators rather than to act as a typical antenna ligand. These results can give rise to an alternative route to elaborate efficient Yb-based luminophores via the substitution of the β-diketonate ligands controlled by the introduction of appropriate neutral ligands.

Asymmetric Ring Opening in a Tetrazine-Based Ligand Affords a Tetranuclear Opto-Magnetic Ytterbium Complex

We report the formation of a tetranuclear lanthanide cluster, [Yb₄ (bpzch)₂ (fod)₁₀ ] (1), which occurs from a serendipitous ring opening of the functionalised tetrazine bridging ligand, bpztz (3,6-dipyrazin-2-yl-1,2,4,5-tetrazine) upon reacting with Yb(fod)₃ (fod^- =6,6,7,7,8,8,8-heptafluoro-2,2-dimethyl-3,5-octandionate). Compound 1 was structurally elucidated via single-crystal X-ray crystallography and subsequently magnetically and spectroscopically characterised to analyse its magnetisation dynamics and its luminescence behaviour. Computational studies validate the observed M_J energy levels attained by spectroscopy and provides a clearer picture of the slow relaxation of the magnetisation dynamics and relaxation pathways. These studies demonstrate that 1 acts as a single-molecule magnet (SMM) under an applied magnetic field in which the relaxation occurs via a combination of Raman, direct, and quantum tunnelling processes, a behaviour further rationalised analysing the luminescent properties. This marks the first lanthanide-containing molecule that forms by means of an asymmetric tetrazine decomposition.

Magnetic anisotropy in YbIII complex candidates for molecular qubits: a theoretical analysis

The magnetic properties of mononuclear YbIII complexes have been explored by using multiconfigurational CASPT2/RASSI calculations. Such complexes, in particular the case of [Yb(trensal)] complex, have been proposed as molecular qubits due to their spin dynamics properties. We have verified the accuracy of the theoretical approach to study such systems by comparing with experimental magnetic data. In order to have a wide overview of the magnetic properties of mononuclear YbIII complexes, we have considered simple charged and neutral models, [Yb(H2O)n]3+ and [Yb(OH)3(H2O)n-3], for many coordination modes. Thus, the results for more than 100 models allow extraction of some conclusions about the best ligand distributions in the coordination sphere to tailor the magnetic properties. Some low coordination, between 3 and 5, complexes that have no experimental magnetic data have been studied computationally to check if they can present high magnetic anisotropy.

Towards comparative investigation of Er- and Yb-based SMMs: the effect of the coordination environment configuration on the magnetic relaxation in the series of heteroleptic thiocyanate complexes

We prepared and studied two similar series of Er and Yb thiocyanates, involving [Ln(H₂O)₅(NCS)₃]·H₂O (1Er, 1Yb) as well as the molecular and ionic complexes with 2,2'-bipyridine (bpy) and 1,10-phenantroline (phen), [Ln(H₂O)(bpy)₂(NCS)₃]·0.5(bpy)·H₂O (2Er, 2Yb), [Ln(H₂O)(phen)₂(NCS)₃]·phen·0.5H₂O (3Er, 3Yb), [Hbpy][Ln(bpy)₂(NCS)₄]·H₂O (4Er, 4Yb) and [Hphen][Ln(phen)₂(NCS)₄] (5Er, 5Yb). All the complexes were found to exhibit the properties of field-induced single-molecule magnets. For 1Yb, the effective value of the energy barrier for magnetization reversal, Δ_eff/k_B, equals to 50 K, which is among the highest ones currently known for molecular SMMs based on Yb³⁺. The obtained data are discussed involving essential structural features of the complexes, namely the configuration of the Ln environment, i.e. its composition and geometry as well as mutual distribution of different donating centers. To the best of our knowledge, this work also involves experimental investigation of the largest and thus sufficiently representative series of similar mononuclear SMMs based on Er and Yb within one study.

Structural and magnetic investigations of a binuclear coordination compound of dysprosium(iii) dinitrobenzoate

Dysprosium(iii) dinitrobenzonate as a new single molecule magnet.

Structural diversity and photo-physical and magnetic properties of dimeric to 1D polymeric coordination polymers of lighter lanthanide(iii) dinitrobenzoates

Single crystal diffraction studies reveal the formation of the following 10 new complexes of lighter Ln(iii) ions with general formulas {[Ln(μ2-L1)3·(H2O)2]·H2O}n (Ln = Nd (1) and Eu (2)), [Nd(μ2-L2)2·(CH3COO)·(H2O)2]n (3), [Ln2(μ2-L2)5·(L2)·(H2O)4]n (Ln = Sm (4), Ce (5), and Pr (6)), [La2(μ2-L2)6·(H2O)3·(DMF)]n (7) (DMF = dimethylformamide), [Ln(μ2-L2)2·(L2)·(H2O)3]2 (Ln = Eu (8) and Gd (9)) and [Gd(L2)·(CH3COO)2·(H2O)2]2 (10), where L1 and L2 are anions of 3,5- and 2,4-dinitrobenzoic acid, respectively. Complexes 1-7 are 1D coordination polymers, while 8-10 are dinuclear complexes. The luminescence properties of Nd(iii) and Eu(iii) analogues displayed metal-centred emission with L1 exhibiting weak but more efficient sensitization than L2. A study of the magnetic properties of the compounds clearly demonstrated the field-induced single ion magnet behaviour of the Nd(iii) compounds 1 and 3. Their behaviour has been compared to previously reported analogous Nd(iii) complexes and the role of the lattice solvent and polymorphism on the magnetic behaviour has been evaluated.

Effect of Low Spin Excited States for Magnetic Anisotropy of Transition Metal Mononuclear Single Molecule Magnets

Rational, fine tuning of magnetic anisotropy is critical to obtain new coordination compounds with enhanced single molecule magnet properties. For mononuclear transition metal complexes, the largest contribution to zero-field splitting is usually related to the excited states of the same spin as the ground level. Thus, the contribution of lower multiplicity roots tends to be overlooked due to its lower magnitude. In this article, we explore the role of lower multiplicity excited states in zero-field splitting parameters in model structures of Fe(II) and Co(II). Model aquo complexes with coordination numbers ranging from 2 to 6 were constructed. The magnetic anisotropy was calculated by state of the art ab initio methodologies, including spin-orbit coupling effects. For non-degenerate ground states, contributions to the zero-field splitting parameter (D) from highest and lower multiplicity roots were of the same sign. In addition, their relative magnitude was in a relatively narrow range, irrespective of the coordination geometry. For degenerate ground states, the contribution from lower multiplicity roots was significantly smaller. Results are rationalized in terms of general expressions for D and are expected to be reasonably transferable to real molecular systems.

Yb3+ can be much better than Dy3+: SMM properties and controllable self-assembly of novel lanthanide 3,5-dinitrobenzoate-acetylacetonate complexes

Novel Ln 3,5-dinitrobenzoates were studied; the Δ_eff value of the Yb derivative is the highest known one for binuclear complexes of this Ln.

Anion-driven structures and SMM behavior of dinuclear terbium and ytterbium complexes

SMM behavior is observed for [Ln₂(HL)₄(NO₃)₆] (Ln = Tb and Yb, HL = 8-hydroxyquinaldine) complexes having nine-coordinated lanthanide centres, whereas, [Ln₂(HL)₄Cl₆]·2EtOH complexes, having hexa-coordinated lanthanide centres do not show any SMM property.

Novel mononuclear Ln complexes with pyrazine-2-carboxylate and acetylacetonate co-ligands: remarkable single molecule magnet behavior of a Yb derivative

A series of novel mononuclear complexes were prepared, and the Yb derivative exhibits the highest Δ_eff/k_B value known for ytterbium complexes.