Synthesis, structure and slow magnetic relaxation of Ce(III) phenylacetate complex

Abstract

[Ce(PAA)3(H2O)]n complex (1) (HPAA is phenylacetic acid) was synthesised and studied. The crystal structure of 1 was elucidated by the Rietveld method. Its crystal structure is polymeric and is built up of Ce(III) ions interconnected by bridging PAA− ligands. The Ce(III) ions in 1 are nona-coordinated by eight carboxylate oxygen atoms from six PAA− ligands, and one aqua ligand completes the coordination sphere yielding O8O donor set. The studied material displays field-induced slow magnetic relaxation. Temperature dependence of the relaxation time suggests the existence of direct and Raman relaxation processes. Similarly, as for the other Ce(III) complexes, the existence of Orbach process may be questioned due to the large discrepancy between the value of the energy gap obtained from static and dynamic measurements.