Lattice Solvent Engineering Improves the Stability of a Cobalt Pyrenylnitronylnitroxide Ferrimagnetic Chain.

Reaction of 2-(1'-pyrenyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazole-3-oxide-1-oxyl (PyrNN) with [Co(hfac)2(H2O)2] (hfac = hexafluoroacetylacetonate) in n-heptane solvent (hep) with a small amount of bromoform (CHBr3 = bf) gives the 1D ferrimagnetic complex [Co(hfac)2PyrNN]n·0.5bf·0.5hep (Co-PyrNN·bf). This chain exhibits slow magnetic relaxation with magnetic blocking below 13.4 K, presenting a magnetic hysteresis with high coercive field (51 kOe at 5.0 K) as a hard magnet. It also shows frequency-dependent behavior consistent with one dominant relaxation process with an activation barrier of Δτ/kB = (365 ± 24) K. The compound is an isomorphous variant of a previously reported ambient unstable chain made by using chloroform (CHCl3 = cf), [Co(hfac)2PyrNN]n·0.5cf·0.5hep (Co-PyrNN·cf). This shows that the variation of a magnetically inactive lattice solvent can improve the stability of analogous, void space containing single-chain magnets.

Synthesis, Magnetic and High-Field EPR Investigation of Two Tetranuclear NiII-Based Complexes.

Two tetranuclear compounds with a cubane-like structure were synthesized from a one-pot reaction between NiII and 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-3,5-heptanedione (Hdpm) for 1 or 4,4,4-trifluoro-1-phenyl-1,3-butanedione (Hbta) for 2 in the presence of sodium methoxide. The crystal structures of both compounds have been determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, and their magnetic properties have been studied by SQUID magnetometry as well as by high-field electron paramagnetic resonance (HFEPR) spectroscopy. For 1, the temperature dependence of the magnetic susceptibility can be fitted by taking into account Ni···Ni ferromagnetic interactions, which leads to an S = 4 ground-state spin. For 2, both antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic interactions are present. However, the latter are dominant, which also leads to an S = 4 ground-state spin, in good agreement with the HFEPR study.

Magnetic Cationic Copper(II) Chains and a Mononuclear Cobalt(II) Complex Containing [Ln(hfac)4]- Blocks as Counterions.

Four new heterospin compounds with molecular formula {[Cu2(hfac)3(TlTrzNIT)2][Ln(hfac)4]} n·C7H16 (LnIII = Gd (1), Tb (2), or Dy (3)) and [Co(hfac)(TlTrzNIT)2][Dy(hfac)4] (4), where hfac is hexafluoroacetylacetonato and TlTrzNIT is the nitronylnitroxide radical 1-( m-tolyl)-1 H-1,2,3-triazole-4-(4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide), were obtained. All structures were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. In compounds 1-3, the TlTrzNIT radical is bridge-coordinated to copper(II) ions, leading to positively charged copper(II)-radical chains containing [Ln(hfac)4]- as counterions. In compound 4, the cobalt(II) ion is coordinated to two TlTrzNIT radicals and one hfac ligand in bidentate mode leading to a mononuclear cationic complex that contains [Dy(hfac)4]- as counterion. Magnetic measurements of all complexes were performed. Magnetic data were fit considering the contributions of the copper(II)-radical chain and a paramagnetic gadolinium(III) ion for 1. The sign and magnitude of the magnetic coupling constants extracted from the fit were confirmed by density functional theory calculations. The obtained spin topology shows an alternated ferro-antiferromagnetic chain. Field-induced single molecule magnet behavior was observed for the Dy derivatives 3 and 4, in agreement with CASSCF calculations performed for the latter system.

Lanthanide chains containing the naphthalenyl nitronyl nitroxide radical.

In this contribution we report the synthesis, structure and magnetic properties of a family of lanthanide-based one dimensional compounds [Ln(hfac)3(NaphNN)] n , where LnIII = Gd (1), Dy(2), Tb(3) and NaphNN is the nitronyl nitroxide (NN) radical 2-(1'-naphthalenyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-Imidazole-3-oxide-1-oxyl. The crystal structure reveals well isolated chains with a twofold helical axis. Magnetic investigation of the gadolinium(iii) chains showed relevant intrachain interactions between Gd-NN nearest neighbors and also Gd-Gd and NN-NN next nearest neighbors. The magnetic interaction parameters were obtained by fitting the data with a six membered ring model. The stronger antiferromagnetic interaction between NN radicals was confirmed by investigation of the mononuclear complex [Y(hfac)3(NaphNN)2] (4) with a similar coordination environment. The dynamic magnetic properties of 2 and 3 were investigated by using the temperature and frequency dependence of the magnetic susceptibility evidencing single chain magnet dynamics under a zero dc field.

Synthesis, Crystal Structures, and EPR Studies of First MnIIILnIII Hetero-binuclear Complexes.

A new family of binuclear complexes [MnIIILnIII(dpm)4(MeO)2(MeOH)2] is reported (where Ln = LaIII (1), PrIII (2), and EuIII(3)). These compounds were obtained from a one-pot reaction between 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-3,5-heptanodione (Hdpm), MnII, and the respective LnIII salt in the presence of sodium methoxide. The derivative containing the diamagnetic ion LaIII has been synthesized in order to characterize the local anisotropy of the MnIII ion. High-field electron paramagnetic resonance (HFEPR) spectroscopy shows that the MnIII ion, with an elongated octahedral geometry in all compounds, has a significant axial zero-field splitting and a small rhombic anisotropy. Additionally, the HFEPR measurements indicate that there is almost no exchange between the spin carriers in these compounds, all of which exhibit field-induced slow relaxation of the magnetization.

Binuclear Lanthanide-Radical Complexes Featuring Two Centers with Different Magnetic and Luminescence Properties.

Binuclear complexes with general formula [Ln2(hfac)6(H2O)2(dppnTEMPO)] (LnIII = Gd, Tb, and Dy) have been obtained using the paramagnetic ligand 1-piperidinyl-4-[(diphenylphosphinyl)amino]-2,2,6,6-tetramethyl (dppnTEMPO) as a bridge. One of the lanthanide ions is ferromagnetically coupled with the TEMPO moiety. Two of the complexes (Dy and Tb) show slow relaxation of the magnetization, and the non-magneto-equivalence of the two LnIII ions was clearly observed. The ab initio CASSCF calculations were employed to confirm this behavior, as well as to rationalize the Ln-Rad interaction. The simulations of the magnetic properties were allowed by the insights given by the calculations. The inequivalence of the TbIII ions was also proved by emission spectroscopy.

A single-chain magnet with a very high blocking temperature and a strong coercive field.

Two isostructural 1D complexes, [M(hfac)2NaphNN]n [M = Mn(II) (1) or Co(II) (2); NaphNN = 1-naphthyl nitronylnitroxide], were synthesized and exhibit very strong antiferromagnetic metal-radical exchange coupling. Compound 2 shows slow magnetic relaxation behavior with a high blocking temperature (TB ≈ 13.2 K) and a very high coercive field of 49 kOe at 4.0 K.

Synthesis, crystal structure and magnetic properties of a novel heterobimetallic rhenium(IV)-dysprosium(III) chain.

The use of the mononuclear rhenium(IV) precursor [ReBr5 (H2 pydc)](-) (H2 pydc=3,5-pyridinedicarboxylic acid) as a metalloligand towards dysprosium(III) afforded the first heterobimetallic Re(IV) -Dy(III) complex. Crystal structures and static and dynamic magnetic properties of both rhenium-containing species are reported herein. The 5d-4f compound shows an extended 1D structure and the AC magnetic measurements reveal frequency dependence at low temperature suggesting slow relaxation of the magnetization.

Synthesis, crystal structures and magnetic behaviour of four coordination compounds constructed with a phosphinic amide-TEMPO radical and [M(hfac)2] (M = Cu(II), Co(II) and Mn(II)).

In the present work we describe the synthesis, crystal structures and magnetic properties of four coordination compounds obtained by assembling a new phosphinic amide containing the TEMPO moiety, 1-piperidinyloxy-4-[(diphenylphosphinyl)amino]-2,2,6,6-tetramethyl radical (dppnTEMPO), with [M(hfac)2] building blocks (M = Cu(II), Co(II), Mn(II)). The crystal structures of the coordination compounds revealed the usefulness of the functionalized radical to provide discrete or extended architectures. In the copper compound () the ligand is coordinated through the oxygen atom of the NP[double bond, length as m-dash]O linkage to the metal, which exists in a square pyramidal or octahedral geometry. For the cobalt and manganese complexes (), both the phosphinic amide and the nitroxide oxygen atoms are involved in the coordination to the metal leading to one dimensional systems. In the cobalt complex () an interesting spin topology in the zig-zag chain was obtained due to the oxygen atom of the phosphinic amide group being µ2 coordinated to two cobalt(ii) ions. The magnetic behaviour of the coordination compounds shows overall antiferromagnetic interactions involving the metal ion and the organic radical. DFT calculations were performed in order to assign the main path for the magnetic interactions.

New families of hetero-tri-spin 2p-3d-4f complexes: synthesis, crystal structures, and magnetic properties.

In this work we report the synthesis, crystal structures, and magnetic behavior of 2p-3d-4f heterospin systems containing the nitroxide radical 4-azido-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl radical (N3tempo). These compounds were synthesized through a one-pot reaction by using [Cu(hfac)2], [Ln(hfac)3] (hfac = hexafluoroacetylacetonate, Ln = Dy(III), Tb(III) or Gd(III)), and the N3tempo radical. Depending on the stoichiometric ratio used, the synthesis leads to penta- or trimetallic compounds, with molecular formulas [Cu3Ln2(hfac)8(OH)4(N3tempo)] (Ln = Gd, Tb, Dy) and [CuLn2(hfac)8(N3tempo)2(H2O)2] (Ln = Gd, Dy). The magnetic properties of all compounds were investigated by direct current (dc) and alternating current (ac) measurements. The ac magnetic susceptibility measurements of Tb(III)- and Dy(III)-containing compounds of both families revealed slow relaxation of the magnetization, with magnetic quantum tunneling in zero field.

A cobalt pyrenylnitronylnitroxide single-chain magnet with high coercivity and record blocking temperature.

Coordination of a [Co(hfac)2] moiety (hfac = hexafluoroacetylacetonate) with a nitronylnitroxide radical linked to bulky, rigid pyrene (PyrNN) gives a helical 1:1 chain complex, in which both oxygen atoms of the radical NO(·) groups are bonded to Co(II) ions with strong antiferromagnetic exchange. The complex shows single-chain magnet (SCM) behavior with frequency-dependent magnetic susceptibility, field-cooled and zero-field-cooled susceptibility divergence with a high blocking temperature of around 14 K (a record among SCMs), and hysteresis with a very large coercivity of 32 kOe at 8 K. The magnetic behavior is partly related to good chain isolation induced by the large pyrene units. Two magnetic relaxation processes have been observed, a slower one attributable to longer, and a faster one attributable to short chains. No evidence of magnetic ordering has been found.

Controlled synthesis of Mn3O4 nanoparticles in ionic liquids.

This work describes a simple one-step synthesis of Mn3O4 nanoparticles by thermal decomposition of [Mn(acac)2] (acac = acetylacetonate) using imidazolium ionic liquids (ILs) and a conventional solvent, oleylamine, for comparison. The Mn3O4 nanoparticles were characterized by XRD, ATR-FTIR, TEM, Raman, UV/VIS and magnetometry techniques. The addition of 1-n-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)amide IL (BMI·NTf2) yielded a smaller particle size (9.9 ± 1.8 nm) with better dispersion and more regular sizes than synthesis using oleylamine as the solvent (12.1 ± 3.0 nm). The complete conversion of the precursor to Mn3O4 nanoparticles occurred after 96 h at 180 °C for the reaction performed in BMI·NTf2. However, under these reaction conditions in oleylamine, no precursor was detected, but two different phases were observed: a major phase corresponding to Mn3O4 and a minor phase corresponding to MnO2. Magnetometry revealed that Mn3O4 nanoparticles synthesized in either oleylamine or BMI·NTf2 exhibited ferrimagnetic behavior at low temperatures, whereas they were paramagnetic at room temperature. As expected, the blocking temperature and the coercivity decreased with the size of nanoparticles. Our results demonstrate that reaction conditions such as time, and the nature of the ionic liquid play important roles in determining the size of Mn3O4 nanoparticles.

New synthetic route toward heterometallic 3d-3d' and 3d-4f single-molecule magnets. The first Co(II)-Mn(III) heterometallic complex.

Four tetranuclear heterometallic complexes, [Co(II)2Mn2(III)(dpm)4(MeO)6] (1) and [Ln(III)2Mn(III)2(dpm)6(MeO)6(MeOH)n], where Ln = Gd (2, n = 2), Tb (3, n = 2), and Dy (4, n = 0), have been obtained following the same general synthetic route, namely, the one-pot reaction between 2,2,6,6-tetrametil-3,5-heptanodione (Hdpm), MnCl2 and CoCl2 or Ln(NO3)3 in the presence of sodium methoxide. Within the four compounds, the metal ions bridged by methoxide ligands display a defect-diheterocubane core. Compounds 1, 3, and 4 show slow relaxation of the magnetization below 4 K.

Tuning of magnetic dipolar interactions of maghemite nanoparticles embedded in polyelectrolyte layer-by-layer films.

In this study we report an experimental approach capable of tuning dipolar interactions in hybrid magnetic nanofilms produced via layer-by-layer assembly of positively-charged maghemite nanoparticles and sodium sulfonated polystyrene onto glass and silicon substrates. Morphological and magnetic properties of the as prepared nanofilms were determined by Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, conventional and SQUID magnetometry. Maghemite nanoparticles form densely packed layers with voids between particles being filled by polymeric material as observed in atomic force microscopy images. Magnetic hysteresis loops and zero-field-cooled/field-cooled magnetization curves reveal a superparamagnetic behavior at room temperature. The energy barrier for the magnetic moment reversal of the nanofilms has been determined from the frequency dependent ac susceptibility and is related to the gamma-Fe2O3 nanoparticles concentration used in the colloidal dispersion throughout film fabrication. Variations on the interparticle distances have a direct effect on the interparticle dipolar interactions. A less concentrated colloid gives rise to large separated nanoparticles inside the nanofilm with a consequent reduction on the energy barrier for the magnetic moment reversal. The fabrication process exploring the control of the nanoparticle concentration can thus be used to tune the magnetic dipolar interactions in the nanofilms.

Magnetic Mn and Co complexes with a large polycyclic aromatic substituted nitronylnitroxide.

2-(1'-Pyrenyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-4,5-dihydro-1H-imidazole-3-oxide-1-oxyl (PyrNN) was reacted with M(hfac)(2) (M = Mn(II) and Co(II), hfac = hexafluoracetylacetonate) to give two isostructural ML(2) stoichiometry M(hfac)(2)(PyrNN)(2) complexes and a ML stoichiometry one-dimensional (1-D) polymer chain complex [Mn(hfac)(2)(PyrNN)]. The ML(2) complexes have similar crystal structures with monoclinic unit cells, in which one NO unit from each PyrNN ligand is bonded to the transition metal on cis vertices of a distorted octahedron. The major magnetic interactions are intracomplex metal-to-radical exchange (J), and intermolecular exchange across a close contact between the uncoordinated NO units (J'). For M = Mn(II) an approximate chain model fit gives g = 2.0, J = (-)125 cm(-1) and J' = (-)49 cm(-1); for M = Co(II), g = 2.4, J = (-)180 cm(-1), and J' = (-)70 cm(-1). Hybrid density functional theory (DFT) computations modeling the intermolecular exchange by using only the radical units across the close contact are in good accord with the estimated values of J'. The chain type complex structure shows solvent incorporation for overall structure [Mn(hfac)(2)(PyrNN)](n)·0.5(CHCl(3))·0.5(C(7)H(16)). Both NO groups of the PyrNN ligand are complexed to form helical chains, with very strong metal to radical antiferromagnetic exchange that gives overall ferrimagnetic behavior.

Catalytic properties of thioredoxin immobilized on superparamagnetic nanoparticles.

Thioredoxin (Trx1), a very important protein for regulating intracellular redox reactions, was immobilized on iron oxide superparamagnetic nanoparticles previously coated with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTS) via covalent coupling using the EDC (1-ethyl-3-{3-dimethylaminopropyl}carbodiimide) method. The system was extensively characterized by atomic force microscopy, vibrational and magnetic techniques. In addition, gold nanoparticles were also employed to probe the exposed groups in the immobilized enzyme based on the SERS (surface enhanced Raman scattering) effect, confirming the accessibility of the cysteines residues at the catalytic site. For the single coated superparamagnetic nanoparticle, by monitoring the enzyme activity with the Ellman reagent, DTNB=5,5'-dithio-bis(2-15 nitrobenzoic acid), an inhibitory effect was observed after the first catalytic cycle. The inhibiting effect disappeared after the application of an additional silicate coating before the APTS treatment, reflecting a possible influence of unprotected iron-oxide sites in the redox kinetics. In contrast, the doubly coated system exhibited a normal in-vitro kinetic activity, allowing a good enzyme recovery and recyclability.

Design of 1D and 2D molecule-based magnets with the ligand 4,5-dimethyl-1,2-phenylenebis(oxamato).

Three new bimetallic oxamato-based magnets with the proligand 4,5-dimethyl-1,2-phenylenebis(oxamato) (dmopba) were synthesized using water or dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) as solvents. Single crystal X-ray diffraction provided structures for two of them: [MnCu(dmopba)(H(2)O)(3)](n)·4nH(2)O (1) and [MnCu(dmopba)(DMSO)(3)](n)·nDMSO (2). The crystalline structures for both 1 and 2 consist of linearly ordered oxamato-bridged Mn(II)Cu(II) bimetallic chains. The magnetic characterization revealed a typical behaviour of ferrimagnetic chains for 1 and 2. Least-squares fits of the experimental magnetic data performed in the 300-20 K temperature range led to J(MnCu) = -27.9 cm(-1), g(Cu) = 2.09 and g(Mn) = 1.98 for 1 and J(MnCu) = -30.5 cm(-1), g(Cu) = 2.09 and g(Mn) = 2.02 for 2 (H = -J(MnCu)∑S(Mn),(i)(S(Cu,i) + S(Cu),(i-1))). The two-dimensional ferrimagnetic system [Me(4)N](2n){Co(2)[Cu(dmopba)](3)}(n)·4nDMSO·nH(2)O (3) was prepared by reaction of Co(II) ions and an excess of [Cu(dmopba)](2-) in DMSO. The study of the temperature dependence of the magnetic susceptibility as well as the temperature and field dependences of the magnetization revealed a cluster glass-like behaviour for 3.

A new family of oxime-based hexanuclear manganese(III) single molecule magnets with high anisotropy energy barriers.

A magneto-structural study of two salicylamidoxime-based {Mn(6)} single-molecule magnets revealed that their anisotropy energy barriers, which can reach the current record for d-transition metal complexes, are strongly dependent upon the precise arrangement of ligands and the solvation state.