Structure and magnetism of [n-BuNH3]12[Cu4(GeW9O34)2].14H2O sandwiching a rhomblike Cu4(8+) tetragon through alpha-Keggin linkage.

A sandwich-type polyoxometalate, [Cu(4)(GeW(9)O(34))(2)](12-) (1a), in which two B-alpha-[GeW(9)O(34)](12-) ligands sandwich a rhomblike Cu(4)(8+) tetragon through alpha-Kappaeggin linkage, is first isolated as a [n-BuNH(3)](+) salt, [n-BuNH(3)](12)[Cu(4)(GeW(9)O(34))(2)].14H(2)O (1). A Cu(4)O(14) cluster for the rhomblike Cu(4)(8+) tetragon in 1a with C(2h) local symmetry consists of two Jahn-Teller (JT) distorted CuO(6) octahedra (at internal sites) with a short diagonal Cu(int)...Cu(int) distance of 3.10-3.11 A and two CuO(5) square pyramids (at external site) with a long diagonal Cu(ext)...Cu(ext) distance of 5.34-5.35 A, the feature of which is different from [Cu(4)(H(2)O)(2)(GeW(9)O(34))(2)](12-) (2a), comprising the four JT-distorted CuO(6) octahedral Cu(4)(8+) tetragons through beta-Keggin linkage: the axial Cu(ext)-O bond distance (2.27-2.29 A) for 1a is shorter than the corresponding JT-axial distance (2.36 A) for 2a. Measurements of magnetic susceptibility, magnetization, and electron spin resonance spectroscopy for 1 are carried out for better understanding of the molecular magnetism of the Cu(4)(8+) tetragon in comparison with 2a. The analysis of the magnetic behavior, based on the isotropic Heisenberg spin Hamiltonian comprising three exchange parameters (J, J', and J''), gives J = -24.1 cm(-1) for the Cu(ext)..Cu(int) sides, J' = -99.1 cm(-1) for the Cu(int)...Cu(int) diagonal, and J'' = +0.04 cm(-1) for the Cu(ext)...Cu(ext) diagonal of the Cu(4)(8+) rhombus. The S = 1 ground state of 1 displays g(||) = 2.42, g( perpendicular)= 2.07, D = -1.44 x 10(-2) cm(-1), and |A(Cu||)| = 46.5 x 10(-4) cm(-1). An observation of the asymmetric magnetization between a positive and a negative pulsed field (up to 10(3) T/s) at 0.5 K on the hysteresis loop indicates the quantum tunneling at zero field. The magnetic exchange interactions of four unpaired d(x(2)-y(2))-electron spins are discussed in terms of the point-dipole approximation, and the primary contribution to D is implied to come from the magnetic dipole-dipole interaction between two spins at the Cu(ext) centers.

Ferromagnetic exchange interactions for Cu6(12+) and Mn6(12+) hexagons sandwiched by two B-alpha-[XW9O33]9- (X = As(III) and Sb(III)) ligands in D3d-symmetric polyoxotungstates.

Two novel Cu6 and Mn6 hexagon sandwiched polyoxometalates, [(CuCl)6(AsW9O33)2]12- (1a) and [(MnCl)6(SbW9O33)2]12- (2a), have been synthesized and characterized by X-ray single-crystal analysis and magnetic measurements. These complexes are D3d symmetric and were isolated as [n-BuNH3]+ salts from aqueous solutions: (n-BuNH3)12[(CuCl)6(AsW9O33)2].6H2O (1), rhombohedral, R, a = 20.33(1) A, c = 26.35(2) A, Z = 3 and (n-BuNH3)12[(MnCl)6(SbW9O33)2].6H2O (2). Six Cu (or Mn) atoms, each of which shows 5-fold coordination, make an approximately equatorial hexagon with a first-neighboring Cu...Cu (Mn...Mn) distance of 2.913(2) A (3.248(1) A) and a Cu-O-Cu (Mn-O-Mn) bond angle of 94.5(2) degrees (100.4(2) degrees ). The magnetic behavior investigated by magnetic susceptibility measurements shows the ferromagnetic exchange interactions with J/k = +12.7 K (J/hc = +8.82 cm(-1)) and a S = 3 ground state for 1 and J/k = +0.20 K (J/hc = +0.14 cm(-1)) and a S = 15 ground state for 2, when only J refers to the isotropic magnetic-exchange interactions for first-neighbor atoms of the approximately equilateral Cu6(12+) and Mn6(12+) hexagons. The single-crystal ESR spectroscopy of 1 under the orientation of the magnetic field along a Cu6 hexagon's nearly 6-fold axis equal to the c axis on the variation of temperature supports the S = 3 ground state and allows an estimate of the zero-field (fine-structure) energy separation between Sz = 0 and Sz = +/-1 of D = -0.182 K to be obtained.