Gadolinium oxalate derivatives with enhanced magnetocaloric effect via ionothermal synthesis.

Two new oxalate-bridged Gd(III) coordination polymers, namely, (choline)[Gd(C2O4)(H2O)3Cl]Cl·H2O (1) and [Gd(C2O4)(H2O)3Cl] (2), were first obtained ionothermally by using a deep eutectic solvent (DES). The magnetic studies and heat capacity measurements reveal that the two-dimensional Gd(III)-based coordination polymer of 2 has the higher magnetic density and exhibits a larger cryogenic magnetocaloric effect (MCE) (ΔS(m) = 48 J kg(-1) K(-1) for ΔH = 7 T at 2.2 K).

Ionothermal synthesis of two oxalate-bridged lanthanide(III) chains with slow magnetization relaxation by using a deep eutectic solvent.

Two novel isostructural oxalate-bridged lanthanide(III) chains, (choline)[Ln(ox)(H2O)3Cl]Cl·H2O (Ln = Dy/Er), were first obtained ionothermally by using a choline chloride-oxalic acid eutectic mixture as both solvent and structure-directing agent, both of which show field-induced slow relaxation of magnetization.

Mononuclear gold(I) acetylide complexes with urea group: synthesis, characterization, photophysics, and anion sensing properties.

A series of mononuclear gold(I) acetylide complexes with urea moiety, R'(3)PAuC≡CC(6)H(4)-4-NHC(O)NHC(6)H(4)-4-R (R' = cyclohexyl, R = NO(2) (2a), CF(3) (2b), Cl (2c), H (2d), CH(3) (2e), (t)Bu (2f), OCH(3) (2g); R' = phenyl, R = NO(2) (3a), OCH(3) (3b); R' = 4-methoxyphenyl, R = H (4a), OCH(3) (4b)), have been synthesized and characterized. The crystal structures of Ph(3)PAuC≡CC(6)H(4)-4-NHC(O)NHC(6)H(4)-4-NO(2) (3a) and (4-CH(3)OC(6)H(4))(3)PAuC≡CC(6)H(4)-4-NHC(O)NHC(6)H(5) (4a) have been determined by X-ray diffraction. Complexes 2a-2g, 3b, and 4a-4b show intense luminescence both in the solid state and in degassed THF solution at 298 K. Anion binding properties of complexes 2a-2g, 3a-3b, and 4a-4b have been studied by UV-vis and (1)H NMR titration experiments. In general, the log K values of 2a-2g with the same anion in THF depend on the substituent R on the acetylide ligand of 2a-2g: R = NO(2) (2a) > CF(3) (2b) ≥ Cl (2c) > H (2d) > CH(3) (2e) ≈ (t)Bu (2f) ≥ OCH(3) (2g). Complex 2a with NO(2) group shows the dramatic color change toward F(-) in DMSO, which provides an access of naked eye detection of F(-).

Two new 1,2,4,5-cyclohexanetetracarboxylate-bridged frameworks with metal hydroxide subunits. Synthesis, structures, magnetism and adsorption.

The hydrothermal synthesis, X-ray crystal structures and thermal and magnetic properties of a layered coordination polymer, [Ni(3.9)Mn(1.1)(µ(3)-OH)(2)(L(I))(2)(H(2)O)(10)]·2H(2)O (1) (L(I) = 1e,2a,4a,5e-cyclohexanetetracarboxylate), and a porous 3D coordination polymer, [Ni(4)(µ(2)-OH)(2)(µ(6)-H(2)L(IV))(2)(pymc)(4,4'-bpy)(H(2)O)(2)](OH)·9H(2)O (2) (pymc = 2-pyrimidinecarboxylate, 4,4'-bpy = 4,4'-bipyridine, L(IV) = 1e,2e,4e,5e-cyclohexanetetracarboxylate), are reported in this paper. The structure of 1 has packed separated layers, each layer being formed of M(3)(µ(3)-OH)(2) chains bridged by M(L(I))(2)via hydrogen bonds. The magnetic properties are characterized by Néel transitions to fully compensated antiferromagnets at 2.9 K and show that 1 is a metamagnet resulting from the ferrimagnetic M(3)(µ(3)-OH)(2) chains and other two metal atoms. Complex 2 is a 3D microporous coordination framework with 2D channels. The conformation of the 1,2,4,5-cyclohexanetetracarboxylate ligands (H(4)L) of complex 2 changes from L(I) (e,a,a,e) to L(IV) (e,e,e,e). The magnetic measurement indicates spin-canted antiferromagnetic behaviour, and the adsorption measurements show that 2 can selectively adsorb CO(2) gas over N(2) gas.

Pure trinuclear 4f single-molecule magnets: synthesis, structures, magnetism and ab initio investigation.

A family of linear Dy(3) and Tb(3) clusters have been facilely synthesized from the reactions of DyCl(3), the polydentate 3-methyloxysalicylaldoxime (MeOsaloxH(2) ) ligand with auxiliary monoanionic ligands, such as trichloroacetate, NO(3)(-), OH(-), and Cl(-). Complexes 1-5 contain a nearly linear Ln(3) core, with similar Ln···Ln distances (3.6901(4)-3.7304(3) Å for the Dy(3) species, and 3.7273(3)-3.7485(5) Å for the Tb(3) species) and Ln···Ln···Ln angles of 157.036(8)-159.026(15)° for the Dy(3) species and 157.156(8)-160.926(15)° for the Tb(3) species. All three Ln centers are bridged by the two doubly-deprotonated [MeOsalox](2-) ligands and two of the four [MeOsaloxH](-) ligands through the N,O-η(2)-oximato groups and the phenoxo oxygen atoms (Dy-O-Dy angles=102.28(16)-106.85(13)°; Tb-O-Tb angles=102.00(11)-106.62(11)°). The remaining two [MeOsaloxH](-) ligands each chelate an outer Ln(III) center through their phenoxo oxygen and oxime nitrogen atoms. Magnetic studies reveal that both Dy(3) and Tb(3) clusters exhibit significant ferromagnetic interactions and that the Dy(3) species behave as single-molecule magnets, expanding upon the recent reports of the pure 4f type SMMs.

Chiral transition metal clusters from two enantiomeric schiff base ligands. Synthesis, structures, CD spectra and magnetic properties.

Two enantiomeric Schiff base ligands R-/S-H2L in situ generated from the condensation of o-vanillin with R- or S-2-phenylglycinol were applied to assemble chiral multinuclear transition metal magnetic clusters for the first time. Four new enantiomerically pure chiral clusters, [NaMn4(3-O)(N3)1.75Br0.25(R-L)3(MeOH)2(H2O)2][NaMn4(mu3-O)(N3)2(R-L)3(MeOH)2(H2O)2]Br4 (1R), [NaMn4(mu3-O)(N3)1.75Br0.25(S-L)3(MeOH)2(H2O)2][NaMn4(mu3-O)(N3)2(S-L)3(MeOH)2(H2O)2]Br4 (1S), [Cu6(R-L)2(R-HL)2(N3)5(MeOH)]NO3.2MeOH.H2O (2R) and [Cu6(S-L)2(S-HL)2(N3)5(MeOH)]NO3.2MeOH.H2O (2S), have been synthesized and characterized by single crystal X-ray crystallography and CD spectroscopy. Three Mn(III) in the MnIIMnIII3 clusters of 1R and 1S are joined together through the 3-O bridge to form an oxo-centered Mn3O unit. Three L2- link four manganese atoms via the mu2-O,N,O-bridging manner into a MnIIMnIII3 cluster in a distorted tetrahedral geometry. Enantiomeric 2S and 2R are hexanuclear copper(II) clusters composed of a cubane-like Cu4L4 part with a dinuclear Cu2(N3)2 unit capped on one of the faces of the Cu4L4 cubane via the mu1,1-azide and phenolate bridges from the chiral ligands. Magnetic analysis reveals intracluster antiferromagnetic interaction between adjacent manganese ions in chiral oxo-centered MnIIMnIII3 magnetic clusters for 1R and 1S, and dominating antiferromagnetic over weak ferromagnetic interactions in Cu6 clusters in 2R and 2S.

Synthesis, structures, adsorption behaviour and magnetic properties of a new family of polynuclear iron clusters.

Solvothermal reactions of 1,10-phenanthroline-2,9-dicarbaldehyde dioxime (H(2)phendox) with FeCl(3)·6H(2)O or FeBr(3) under solvothermal conditions yielded two trinuclear iron(III) clusters [Fe(III)(3)(mu(3)-O)(phendox)(3)]X·14H(2)O (X = Cl 1·14H(2)O, Br 2·14H(2)O) and three hexanuclear iron(III) and iron(II) clusters, [Fe(III)(6)(mu(4)-O)(2)(MeO)(6)X(4)(phendox)(2)]·MeOH (X = Cl , Br 4) and (H(3)O)[Fe(II)(6)(mu(6)-Cl)(phenda)(6)]·6H(2)O (5·6H(2)O). The phendox(2-) ligand is very useful in constructing magnetically active and stable high-nuclearity metal clusters in that the phenanthroline rings and the oxime nitrogen atoms grasp the metal ions tightly while the two oxygen atoms on the oximates can link other metal centres in the shortest pairwise magnetic exchange pathway. Adjacent Fe(3)(mu(3)-O)(phendox)(3)(+) motifs in 1 and 2 are packed by off-set pi-pi interactions of the aromatic rings on phendox(2-) to generate a 3D supramolecular architecture in the honeycomb topology and with 1D hexagonal channels in the dimension of 13 x 13 Å along the c-axis. 2 is stable upon the removal of guest molecules and the desolvated compound absorbed considerable amount of N(2), CO(2) and H(2). 3 and 4 are isostructural. Two mu(4)-O(2-) and two phendox(2-) units link four metal atoms into a coplanar butterfly-shaped unit with the mu(4)-O(2-) slightly above and below the plane (+/-0.264 Å). The other two Fe(III) ions are capped on the alternate planes via the three bridging mu(2)-methoxides and accordingly form an unprecedented hexanuclear Fe(III) cluster. Furthermore, the oximes underwent hydrolysis to yield carboxylate groups and the resulted 1,10-phenanthroline-2,9-dicarboxylate link the iron atoms to form a hexanuclear cluster of 5. Magnetic studies show that the antiferromagnetic interactions are present in the Fe(3)O core of 2 and in the (mu(6)-Cl)Fe(6)(mu-O)(12) core of 5.

Reactivity of 4-amino-3,5-bis(pyridin-2-yl)-1,2,4-triazole, structures and magnetic properties of polynuclear and polymeric Mn(II), Cu(II) and Cd(II) complexes.

Five new complexes were obtained from solution or hydrothermal reactions of M(OAc)(2) (M = Mn, Cu and Cd) or CuCl(2) with 4-amino-3,5-bis(pyridin-2-yl)-1,2,4-triazole (abpt) and NaN(3) or 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid (btcH(3)) in different molar ratios. Structural analysis reveals that Cd(abpt) units in [Cd(abpt)(mu(1,1)-N(3))(2)](n) (1) are bridged by double mu(1,1) end-on (EO) azides into 1D zigzag coordination chains. Similar structural motifs, i.e. the chelation of abpt to the metal center and the double bridges of EO azides, are found in [Mn(4)(abpt)(4)(mu(1,1)-N(3))(8)(H(2)O)(2)] (2). The terminal aqua molecules and the monodentate N(3)(-) groups lead to the formation of a tetranuclear complex rather than a polymeric compound. The abpt underwent deamination in the presence of copper ions during the process of coordination and became 3,5-bis(pyridin-2-yl)-1,2,4-triazolate (bpt-H) in 3-5. [Cu(4)(bpt-H)(4)(N(3))(4)].4.5H(2)O (3) is a neutral tetranuclear grid-like complex, in which the azides act as monodentate ligands. A similar [Cu(4)(bpt-H)(4)](4+) grid-like unit was found in [Cu(4)(bpt-H)(4)(mu-btcH)Cl(2)].2H(2)O (4) and a pair of symmetry-related copper atoms are bridged by the mu-btcH(2)(-) coligand in a butterfly-shaped structure. In [Cu(2)(bpt-H)(mu(6)-btc)(H(2)O)](n) (5), the tetranuclear {Cu(4)(mu-bpt-H)(2)(mu(3)-carboxylate)(2)}(4+) units are bridged by mu(6)-btc(3-) ligands in a 2D step-like layer structure. Temperature-dependent magnetic susceptibility measurements reveal that the double mu(1,1)-N(3)(-) bridges in 2 transmit the ferromagnetic interactions between Mn(2+) centers (J(1) = J(2) = +3.09(4) cm(-1), g(Mn(II)) = 2.02(1)), and the mu-(bpt-H)(-) bridges transmit moderate antiferromagnetic interactions in both 3 (J = -12.78(13) cm(-1)) and 4 (J(1) = -14.96(11) cm(-1)). In 4 the antiferromagnetic coupling via the mu-btcH(2-) bridge was found as the second coupling pathway (J(2) = -9.48(7) cm(-1)). The coexistence of ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic coupling between four Cu(2+) centers occurs in 5 (J(1) = -0.88(3) cm(-1) and J(2) = +5.01(2) cm(-1)). The magneto-structural relationship for tetranuclear copper pyrazolate/triazolate compounds has been discussed.

Novel three-dimensional 3d-4f microporous magnets exhibiting selective gas adsorption behavior.

Three microporous Ln-Co-pyta heterometallic compounds [Ln4Co3(pyta)6(H2O)9].5H2O (Ln = Sm (1), Eu (2), Gd (3); H3pyta = 2,4,6-pyridinetricarboxylic acid) have interesting selective adsorption abilities towards H2/N2 and CO2/N2 because of size-selective effects; magnetic analysis reveals that has a ferromagnetic behavior.

Coordination chemistry of conformation-flexible 1,2,3,4,5,6-cyclohexanehexacarboxylate: trapping various conformations in metal-organic frameworks.

To study the conformations of 1,2,3,4,5,6-cyclohexanehexacarboxylic acid (H(6)L), eleven new coordination polymers have been isolated from hydrothermal reactions of different metal salts with 1e,2a,3e,4a,5e,6a-cyclohexanehexacarboxylic acid (3e+3a, H(6)L(I)) and characterized. They are [Cd(12)(mu(6)-L(II))(mu(10)-L(II))(3)(mu-H(2)O)(6)(H(2)O)(6)]16.5 H(2)O (1), Na(12)[Cd(6)(mu(6)-L(II))(mu(6)-L(III))(3)]27 H(2)O (2), [Cd(3)(mu(13)-L(II))(mu-H(2)O)] (3), [Cd(3)(mu(6)-L(III))(2,2'-bpy)(3)(H(2)O)(3)]2 H(2)O (4), [Cd(4)(mu(4)-L(VI))(2)(4,4'-Hbpy)(4)(4,4'-bpy)(2)(H(2)O)(4)]9.5 H(2)O (5), [Cd(2)(mu(6)-L(II))(4,4'-Hbpy)(2)(H(2)O)(10)]5 H(2)O (6), [Cd(3)(mu(11)-L(VI))(H(2)O)(3)] (7), [M(3)(mu(9)-L(II))(H(2)O)(6)] (M=Mn (8), Fe (9), and Ni (10)), and [Ni(4)(OH)(2)(mu(10)-L(II))(4,4'-bpy)(H(2)O)(4)]6 H(2)O (11). Three new conformations of 1,2,3,4,5,6-cyclohexanehexacarboxylate, 6e (L(II)), 4e+2a (L(III)) and 5e+1a (L(VI)), have been derived from the conformational conversions of L(I) and trapped in these complexes by controlling the conditions of the hydrothermal systems. Complexes 1 and 2 have three-dimensional (3D) coordination frameworks with nanoscale cages and are obtained at relatively low temperatures. A quarter of the L(I) ligands undergo a conformational transformation into L(II) while the others are transformed into L(III) in the presence of NaOH in 2, while all of the L(I) are transformed into L(II) in the absence of NaOH in 1. Complex 3 has a 3D condensed coordination framework, which was obtained under similar reaction conditions as 1, but at a higher temperature. The addition of 2,2'-bipyridine (2,2'-bpy) or 4,4'-bipyridine (4,4'-bpy) to the hydrothermal system as an auxiliary ligand also induces the conformational transformation of H(6)L(I). A new L(VI) conformation has been trapped in complexes 4-7 under different conditions. Complex 4 has a 3D microporous supramolecular network constructed from a 2D L(III)-bridged coordination layer structure by pi-pi interactions between the chelating 2,2'-bpy ligands. Complexes 5-7 have different frameworks with L(II)/L(VI) conformations, which were prepared by using different amounts of 4,4'-bpy under similar synthetic conditions. Both 5 and 7 are 3D coordination frameworks involving the L(VI) ligands, while 6 has a 3D microporous supramolecular network constructed from a 2D L(II)-bridged coordination layer structure by interlayer N(4,4'-Hbpy)--HO(L(II)) hydrogen bonds. 3D coordination frameworks 8-11 have been obtained from the H(6)L(I) ligand and the paramagnetic metal ions Mn(II), Fe(II), and Ni(II), and their magnetic properties have been studied. Of particular interest to us is that two copper coordination polymers of the formulae [{Cu(II) (2)(mu(4)-L(II))(H(2)O)(4)}{Cu(I) (2)(4,4'-bpy)(2)}] (12 alpha) and [Cu(II)(Hbtc)(4,4'-bpy)(H(2)O)]3 H(2)O (H(3)btc=1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid) (12 beta) resulted from the same one-pot hydrothermal reaction of Cu(NO(3))(2), H(6)L(I), 4,4'-bpy, and NaOH. The Hbtc(2-) ligand in 12 beta was formed by the in situ decarboxylation of H(6)L(I). The observed decarboxylation of the H(6)L(I) ligand to H(3)btc may serve as a helpful indicator in studying the conformational transformation mechanism between H(6)L(I) and L(II-VI). Trapping various conformations in metal-organic structures may be helpful for the stabilization and separation of various conformations of the H(6)L ligand.