Polymorphism in a Cobalt-Based Single-Ion Magnet Tuning Its Barrier to Magnetization Relaxation.

A large barrier to magnetization reversal, a signature of a good single-molecule magnet (SMM), strongly depends on the structural environment of a paramagnetic metal ion. In a crystalline state, where SMM properties are usually measured, this environment is influenced by crystal packing, which may be different for the same chemical compound, as in polymorphs. Here we show that polymorphism can dramatically change the magnetic behavior of an SMM even with a very rigid coordination geometry. For a cobalt(II) clathrochelate, it results in an increase of the effective barrier from 109 to 180 cm-1, the latter value being the largest one reported to date for cobalt-based SMMs. Our finding thus highlights the importance of identifying possible polymorphic phases in search of new, even more efficient SMMs.

Combined analysis of chemical bonding in a Cu(II) dimer using QTAIM, Voronoi tessellation and Hirshfeld surface approaches.

Interaction of 1-(1H-pyrazol-5-yl)ethanone oxime (H2PzOx) with copper(II) chloride in the presence of pyridine afforded a binuclear discrete [Cu2(HPzOx)2Cl2py2] complex, which was characterized by Fourier transform-IR and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra, magnetochemistry and high-resolution X-ray diffraction experiments. Multipole refinement of X-ray diffraction data and density-functional theory (DFT) calculations of an isolated molecule allowed charge and spin distributions to be obtained for this compound. Magnetochemistry data, EPR spectra and DFT calculations of an isolated molecule show antiferromagnetic coupling between copper(II) ions. The spin distribution suggests an exchange pathway via the bridging pyrazole ring in the equatorial plane of the CuN4Cl coordination polyhedron, thus providing support for the classical superexchange mechanism; the calculated value of the magnetic coupling constant -2J is equal to 220 cm(-1), which compares well with the experimental value of 203 ±â€…2 cm(-1). Chemical connectivity was derived by Bader's 'quantum theory of atoms in molecules' and compared with Voronoi tessellation and Hirshfeld surface representations of crystal space. All methodologies gave a similar qualitative and semi-quantitative description of intra- and intermolecular connectivity.

Chloride ion-aided self-assembly of pseudoclathrochelate metal tris-pyrazoloximates.

Chloride ion-aided one-pot template self-assembly of a mixed pyrazoloxime ligand with phenylboronic acid on a corresponding metal(II) ion as a matrix afforded the first boron-capped zinc, cobalt, iron, and manganese pseudoclathrochelate tris-pyrazoloximates. The presence of a pseudocross-linking hydrogen-bonded chloride ion is critical for their formation, as the same chloride-capped complexes were isolated even in the presence of large excesses of bromide and iodide ions. As revealed by X-ray diffraction, all complexes are capped with a chloride ion via three N-H···Cl hydrogen bonds that stabilize their pseudomacrobicyclic frameworks. The MN6 coordination polyhedra possess a distorted trigonal prismatic geometry, with the distortion angles φ between their nonequivalent N3 bases of approximately 0°. Temperature dependences of the effective magnetic moment for the paramagnetic complexes showed the encapsulated metal(II) ions to be in a high-spin state in the temperature range of 2-300 K. In the case of the iron(II) pseudoclathrochelate, density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT calculations were used to assess its spin state as well as the (57)Fe Mössbauer and UV-vis-NIR parameters. Cyclic voltammetry studies performed for these pseudomacrobicyclic complexes showed them to undergo irreversible or quasi-reversible metal-localized oxidations and reductions. As no changes are observed in the presence of a substantial excess of bromide ion, no anion-exchange reaction occurs, and thus the pseudoclathrochelates have a high affinity toward chloride anions in solution.

A Mononuclear Mn(II) Pseudoclathrochelate Complex Studied by Multi-Frequency Electron-Paramagnetic-Resonance Spectroscopy.

Knowledge of the correlation between structural and spectroscopic properties of transition-metal complexes is essential to deepen the understanding of their role in catalysis, molecular magnetism, and biological inorganic chemistry. It provides topological and, sometimes, functional insight with respect to the active site properties of metalloproteins. The electronic structure of a high-spin mononuclear Mn(II) pseudoclathrochelate complex has been investigated by electron-paramagnetic-resonance (EPR) spectroscopy at 9.5 and 275.7 GHz. A substantial, virtually axial zero-field splitting with D = -9.7 GHz (-0.32 cm(-1)) is found, which is the largest one reported to date for a Mn(II) complex with six nitrogen atoms in the first coordination sphere.