A useful preparation of ultrasmall iron oxide particles by using arc plasma deposition.

Ultrasmall particles, different from the larger size nanoparticles, have recently attracted significant attention in the scientific community in nanotechnology for catalytic, electronic and optical applications; however, their magnetic properties remain unexplored due to the difficult structural analysis. A challenging issue is to develop a preparation method for iron oxide particles (IOPs) with fine size control, and to determine the dependence of magnetic properties on the morphology and crystallinity of the magnetic particles. However, synthetic approaches to obtain IOPs, regarded as one of the new fields of magnetic nanoparticles, have been significantly limited. This article reported a developed synthetic method to prepare IOPs on carbon supports using pulsed arc plasma deposition (APD) in flowing oxygen gas, which clarified the finely-controlled formation of IOPs on graphene nanosheets. Structural characterization of the IOPs revealed the formation of crystalline γ-Fe2O3 ultrasmall particles with oxygen deficiency. The pulsed APD method for IOPs is the first simple and convenient technique to not only prevent significant aggregation and contamination by organic compounds and avoid the need for thermal pretreatment, but also provide uniform crystalline nano-order particles.

Strong ferromagnetic exchange interactions in hinge-like Dy(O2Cu)2 complexes involving double oxygen bridges.

Two trinuclear isomeric compounds, [{(Cu(II)(salpn))(Me(CO)Me)}2Dy(III)(NO3)3] (1) and [{Cu(II)(salpn)}2Dy(III)(H2O)(NO3)3]·MeOH (2), along with one polymeric compound, {[{Cu(II)(salpn)}2Dy(III)(NO3)3bpy]·MeOH·H2O}n (3), were synthesized using a metalloligand, [Cu(II)(salpn)], where H2salpn and bpy stand for N,N'-bis(salicylidene)-1,3-propanediamine and 4,4'-bipyridine, respectively. Compounds 1 and 2 were selectively prepared with two solvents: the less polar acetone led to the exclusive crystallization of 1 with a transoid trinuclear architecture, while more polar solvent methanol provided sole construction of 2 with a cisoid trinuclear architecture. Compound 3 was prepared from 1 or 2 after bpy was introduced as a bridge. The Dy and Cu ions are doubly bridged with oxygen atoms, and the core DyO2Cu skeletons are characterized by different "butterfly angles" of 140.9(1)°, 147.1(19)°, and 142.4(2)° for 1, 2, and 3, respectively. We have examined the molecular structures and magnetic properties of 1-3 using high-frequency electron paramagnetic resonance (HF-EPR), magnetization, and magnetic susceptibility techniques. These compounds showed slow magnetization reversal in the measurements of alternating current magnetic susceptibility. We analyzed EPR frequency-field diagrams using an effective spin-Hamiltonian including only one doublet of Dy sublevels and found that the exchange couplings are ferromagnetic in all compounds. The exchange coupling parameters JDy-Cu of 1, 2, and 3 were determined as 2.25 ± 0.05, 1.82 ± 0.04, and 1.79 ± 0.04 K, respectively. These values are larger than those found in previous research using EPR analysis on [Cu(II)(L(A))(C3H6O)Dy(III)(NO3)3] (H2L(A) = N,N'-bis(3-methoxysalicylidene)-1,3-diamino-2,2-dimethylpropane) and [Dy(III)L(B)2(NO3)2{Cu(II)(CH3OH)}2](NO3)(CH3OH) (H2L(B) = 2,6-bis(acetylaceto)pyridine). The present result shows an advantage of doubly oxygen-bridged motifs to built strong ferromagnetic interactions between lanthanide and transition metal ions. We found that the exchange coupling strength is sensitive to the structural parameters such as bond angles, bond lengths, and butterfly angles. Precise determination of the exchange parameters would contribute to development of exchange-coupled 4f-3d heterometallic complexes.

Synthesis of mixed-valence hexanuclear Mn(II/III) clusters from its Mn(II) precursor: variations of catecholase-like activity and magnetic coupling.

One Mn(II) coordination polymer, [Mn(o-(NO2)C6H4COO)2(pyz)(H2O)]n (1), has been synthesized and oxidized with n-Bu4NMnO4 in non-aqueous media to two mixed-valence hexanuclear Mn(II/III) complexes [MnIII2MnII4O2(pyz)0.61/(MeOH)0.39(o-(NO2)C6H4COO)10·(H2O)·{(CH3)2CO}2]·(CH3)2CO (2) and [MnIII2MnII4O2(pyz)0.28/(MeCN)3.72(o-(NO2)C6H4COO)10·(H2O)] (3) (where pyz = pyrazine). All three complexes were characterized by elemental analyses, IR spectroscopy, single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses, and variable-temperature magnetic measurements. The structural analyses reveal that complex 1 is comprised of linear chains of pyz bridged Mn(II), which are further linked to one another by syn­anti carboxylate bridges, giving rise to a two-dimensional (2D) net. Complexes 2 and 3 feature mixed valence [MnIII2MnII4] units in which each of the six manganese centres reside in an octahedral environment. Apart from the variations in terminal ligands (acetone for 2 and acetonitrile for 3), the complexes are very similar. Using 3,5-di-tert-butyl catechol (3,5-DTBC) as the substrate, the catecholase-like activity of the complexes has been studied and it is found that the mixed valent Mn6 complexes (2 and 3) are much more active towards aerial oxidation of catechol compared to the Mn(II) complex (1). Variable-temperature (1.8­300 K) magnetic susceptibility measurements showed the presence of antiferromagnetic coupling in all three complexes. The magnetic data have been fitted with a 2D quadratic model derived by Lines, giving the exchange constant J/kB = −0.0788(5) K for 1. For 2 and 3, antiferromagnetic interactions within the Mn6 cluster have been fitted with models containing three exchange constants: JA/kB = −70 K, JB/kB = −0.5 K, JC/kB = −2.9 K for 2 and JA/kB = −60 K, JB/kB = −0.3 K, JC/kB = −2.8 K for 3.

A new family of trinuclear nickel(II) complexes as single-molecule magnets.

Three new trinuclear nickel (II) complexes with the general composition [Ni3 L3 (OH)(X)](ClO4 ) have been prepared in which X=Cl(-) (1), OCN(-) (2), or N3(-) (3) and HL is the tridentate N,N,O donor Schiff base ligand 2-[(3-dimethylaminopropylimino)methyl]phenol. Single-crystal structural analyses revealed that all three complexes have a similar Ni3 core motif with three different types of bridging, namely phenoxido (µ2 and µ3 ), hydroxido (µ3 ), and µ2 -Cl (1), µ1,1 -NCO (2), or µ1,1 -N3 (3). The nickel(II) ions adopt a compressed octahedron geometry. Single-crystal magnetization measurements on complex 1 revealed that the pseudo-three-fold axis of Ni3 corresponds to a magnetic easy axis, being consistent with the magnetic anisotropy expected from the coordination structure of each nickel ion. Temperature-dependent magnetic measurements indicated ferromagnetic coupling leading to an S=3 ground state with 2J/k=17, 17, and 28 K for 1, 2, and 3, respectively, with the nickel atoms in an approximate equilateral triangle. The high-frequency EPR spectra in combination with spin Hamiltonian simulations that include zero-field splitting parameters DNi /k=-5, -4, and -4 K for 1, 2, and 3, respectively, reproduced the EPR spectra well after a anisotropic exchange term was introduced. Anisotropic exchange was identified as Di,j /k=-0.9, -0.8, and -0.8 K for 1, 2, and 3, respectively, whereas no evidence of single-ion rhombic anisotropy was observed spectroscopically. Slow relaxation of the magnetization at low temperatures is evident from the frequency-dependence of the out-of-phase ac susceptibilities. Pulsed-field magnetization recorded at 0.5 K shows clear steps in the hysteresis loop at 0.5-1 T, which has been assigned to quantum tunneling, and is characteristic of single-molecule magnets.

Structure and magnetic properties of an unprecedented syn-anti µ-nitrito-1κO:2κO' bridged Mn(III)-salen complex and its isoelectronic and isostructural formate analogue.

The preparation, crystal structures and magnetic properties of two new isoelectronic and isomorphous formate- and nitrite-bridged 1D chains of Mn(III)-salen complexes, [Mn(salen)(HCOO)](n) (1) and [Mn(salen)(NO(2))](n) (2), where salen is the dianion of N,N'-bis(salicylidene)-1,2-diaminoethane, are presented. The structures show that the salen ligand coordinates to the four equatorial sites of the metal ion and the formate or nitrite ions coordinate to the axial positions to bridge the Mn(III)-salen units through a syn-antiµ-1κO:2κO' coordination mode. Such a bridging mode is unprecedented in Mn(III) for formate and in any transition metal ion for nitrite. Variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements of complexes 1 and 2 indicate the presence of ferromagnetic exchange interactions with J values of 0.0607 cm(-1) (for 1) and 0.0883 cm(-1) (for 2). The ac measurements indicate negligible frequency dependence for 1 whereas compound 2 exhibits a decrease of χ(ac)' and a concomitant increase of χ(ac)'' on elevating frequency around 2 K. This finding is an indication of slow magnetization reversal characteristic of single-chain magnets or spin-glasses. The µ-nitrito-1κO:2κO' bridge seems to be a potentially superior magnetic coupler to the formate bridge for the construction of single-molecule/-chain magnets as its coupling constant is greater and the χ(ac)' and χ(ac)'' show frequency dependence.