A tetranuclear Er(III)-based cluster with bifunctional properties: Efficient conversion of CO2 and slow magnetic relaxation behavior

Abstract

A new Er4 cluster [Er4(NO3)2(acac)4(L)2(CH3OH)2]·2CH3CN (1) (H4L = (E)-2-(hydroxymethyl)-2-(((2-hydroxynaphthalen-1-yl)methylene)amino)propane-1,3-diol, and Hacac = acetylacetone) were synthesized by employing a polydentate Schiff-base ligand (H4L) and a β-diketonate co-ligand and further characterized structurally. Alternating current (ac) magnetic susceptibility measurements indicated that cluster 1 shows slow relaxation of magnetization behavior. More importantly, cluster 1 shows high catalytic activity of the cycloaddition reaction of CO2 and epichlorohydrin under mild conditions; and cluster 1 as heterogenous catalyst can be reused at least three times without any obvious loss in catalytic activity. It is worth mentioning that cluster 1 is a rare bifunctional Ln(III)-based material for both molecular based magnetic material and heterogenous catalyst.