Contribution of Spin and Anisotropy to Single Molecule Magnet Behavior in a Family of Bell-Shaped Mn11Ln2 Coordination Clusters

Abstract

The synthesis, structures, and magnetic properties of a family of isostructural "bell-shaped" heterometallic coordination clusters [Mn(III)(9)Mn(II)(2)La(III)(2)(μ(4)-O)(7)(μ(3)-O)(μ(3)-OH)(2)(piv)(10.8)(O(2)CC(4)H(3)O)(6.2)(NO(3))(2)(OH(2))(1.5)(MeCN)(0.5)]·12CH(3)CN·2H(2)O (1) and [Mn(III)(9)Mn(II)(2)Ln(2)(μ(4)-O)(7)(μ (3)-O)(μ(3)-OH)(2)(piv)(10.6)(O(2)CC(4)H(3)O)(6.4)(NO(3))(2)(OH(2))]·nCH(3)CN·H(2)O (Ln = Pr(III), n = 8 (2); Ln = Nd(III), n = 10 (3); Ln = Eu(III), n = 17 (4); Ln = Gd(III), n = 13 (5); piv = pivalate) are reported. The complexes were obtained from the reaction of [Mn(III)(2)Mn(II)(4)O(2)(piv)(10)(4-Me-py)(2.5)(pivH)(1.5)] and Ln(NO(3))(3)·6H(2)O in the presence of 2-furan-carboxylic acid (C(4)H(3)OCOOH) in CH(3)CN. Compounds 1-5 are isomorphous, crystallizing in the triclinic space group P1 with Z = 2. The Mn(III) and Mn(II) centers together form the shell of the bell, while the two Ln(III) centers can be regarded as the bell's clapper. The magnetic properties of 1-4 reveal dominant antiferromagnetic interactions between the magnetic centers leading to small spin ground states; while those of 5 indicate similar antiferromagnetic interactions between the manganese ions but with unusually strong ferromagnetic interactions between the Gd(III) ions leading to a large overall spin ground state of S = 11-12. While ac and dc magnetic measurements confirmed that Mn(11)Gd(2) (5) is a single-molecule magnet (SMM) showing hysteresis loops at low temperatures, compounds 1-4 do not show any slow relaxation of the magnetization, indicating that the S = 7 spin of the ferromagnetic Gd(2) unit in 5 is a necessary contribution to its SMM behavior.