High- versus Low-Spin Ni2+ in Elongated Octahedral Environments: Sr2NiO2Cu2Se2, Sr2NiO2Cu2S2, and Sr2NiO2Cu2(Se1-x S x )2.

Sr2NiO2Cu2Se2, comprising alternating [Sr2NiO2]2+ and [Cu2Se2]2- layers, is reported. Powder neutron diffraction shows that the Ni2+ ions, which are in a highly elongated NiO4Se2 environment with D4h symmetry, adopt a high-spin configuration and carry localized magnetic moments which order antiferromagnetically below ∼160 K in a √2a × âˆš2a × 2c expansion of the nuclear cell with an ordered moment of 1.31(2) µB per Ni2+ ion. The adoption of the high-spin configuration for this d 8 cation in a pseudo-square-planar ligand field is supported by consideration of the experimental bond lengths and the results of density functional theory (DFT) calculations. This is in contrast to the sulfide analogue Sr2NiO2Cu2S2, which, according to both experiment and DFT calculations, has a much more elongated ligand field, more consistent with the low-spin configuration commonly found for square-planar Ni2+, and accordingly, there is no evidence for magnetic moment on the Ni2+ ions. Examination of the solid solution Sr2NiO2Cu2(Se1-x S x )2 shows direct evidence from the evolution of the crystal structure and the magnetic ordering for the transition from high-spin selenide-rich compounds to low-spin sulfide-rich compounds as a function of composition. Compression of Sr2NiO2Cu2Se2 up to 7.2 GPa does not show any structural signature of a change in the spin state. Consideration of the experimental and computed Ni2+ coordination environments and their subtle changes as a function of temperature, in addition to transitions evident in the transport properties and magnetic susceptibilities in the end members, Sr2NiO2Cu2Se2 and Sr2NiO2Cu2S2, suggest that simple high-spin and low-spin models for Ni2+ may not be entirely appropriate and point to further complexities in these compounds.

From an antiferromagnetic insulator to a strongly correlated metal in square-lattice MCl2(pyrazine)2 coordination solids.

Electronic synergy between metal ions and organic linkers is a key to engineering molecule-based materials with a high electrical conductivity and, ultimately, metallicity. To enhance conductivity in metal-organic solids, chemists aim to bring the electrochemical potentials of the constituent metal ions and bridging organic ligands closer in a quest to obtain metal-d and ligand-π admixed frontier bands. Herein, we demonstrate the critical role of the metal ion in tuning the electronic ground state of such materials. While VCl2(pyrazine)2 is an electrical insulator, TiCl2(pyrazine)2 displays the highest room-temperature electronic conductivity (5.3 S cm-1) for any metal-organic solid involving octahedrally coordinated metal ions. Notably, TiCl2(pyrazine)2 exhibits Pauli paramagnetism consistent with the specific heat, supporting the existence of a Fermi liquid state (i.e., a correlated metal). This result widens perspectives for designing molecule-based systems with strong metal-ligand covalency and electronic correlations.

Synthesis, Structure, and Compositional Tuning of the Layered Oxide Tellurides Sr2MnO2Cu2- xTe2 and Sr2CoO2Cu2Te2.

The synthesis and structure of two new transition metal oxide tellurides, Sr2MnO2Cu1.82(2)Te2 and Sr2CoO2Cu2Te2, are reported. Sr2CoO2Cu2Te2 with the purely divalent Co2+ ion in the oxide layers has magnetic ordering based on antiferromagnetic interactions between nearest neighbors and appears to be inert to attempted topotactic oxidation by partial removal of the Cu ions. In contrast, the Mn analogue with the more oxidizable transition metal ion has a 9(1)% Cu deficiency in the telluride layer when synthesized at high temperatures, corresponding to a Mn oxidation state of +2.18(2), and neutron powder diffraction revealed the presence of a sole highly asymmetric Warren-type magnetic peak, characteristic of magnetic ordering that is highly two-dimensional and not fully developed over a long range. Topotactic oxidation by the chemical deintercalation of further copper using a solution of I2 in acetonitrile offers control over the Mn oxidation state and, hence, the magnetic ordering: oxidation yielded Sr2MnO2Cu1.58(2)Te2 (Mn oxidation state of +2.42(2)) in which ferromagnetic interactions between Mn ions result from Mn2+/3+ mixed valence, resulting in a long-range-ordered A-type antiferromagnet with ferromagnetic MnO2 layers coupled antiferromagnetically.

Synthesis, Structure, and Properties of the Layered Oxide Chalcogenides Sr2CuO2Cu2S2 and Sr2CuO2Cu2Se2.

The structures of two new oxide chalcogenide phases, Sr2CuO2Cu2S2 and Sr2CuO2Cu2Se2, are reported, both of which contain infinite CuO2 planes containing Cu2+ and which have Cu+ ions in the sulfide or selenide layers. Powder neutron diffraction measurements show that Sr2CuO2Cu2Se2 exhibits long-range magnetic ordering with a magnetic structure based on antiferromagnetic interactions between nearest-neighbor Cu2+ ions, leading to a √2 a × âˆš2 a × 2 c expansion of the nuclear cell. The ordered moment of 0.39(6) µB on the Cu2+ ions at 1.7 K is consistent with the value predicted by density functional theory calculations. The compounds are structurally related to the cuprate superconductors and may also be considered as analogues of the parent phases of this class of superconductor such as Sr2CuO2Cl2 or La2CuO4. In the present case, however, the top of the chalcogenide-based valence band is very close to the vacant Cu2+ 3d states of the conduction band, leading to relatively high measured conductivity.

Formation of the layered conductive magnet CrCl2(pyrazine)2 through redox-active coordination chemistry.

The unique properties of graphene, transition-metal dichalcogenides and other two-dimensional (2D) materials have boosted interest in layered coordination solids. In particular, 2D materials that behave as both conductors and magnets could find applications in quantum magnetoelectronics and spintronics. Here, we report the synthesis of CrCl2(pyrazine)2, an air-stable layered solid, by reaction of CrCl2 with pyrazine (pyz). This compound displays a ferrimagnetic order below ∼55 K, reflecting the presence of strong magnetic interactions. Electrical conductivity measurements demonstrate that CrCl2(pyz)2 reaches a conductivity of 32 mS cm-1 at room temperature, which operates through a 2D hopping-based transport mechanism. These properties are induced by the redox-activity of the pyrazine ligand, which leads to a smearing of the Cr 3d and pyrazine π states. We suggest that the combination of redox-active ligands and reducing paramagnetic metal ions represents a general approach towards tuneable 2D materials that consist of charge-neutral layers and exhibit both long-range magnetic order and high electronic conductivity.

[OsF6 ]x- : Molecular Models for Spin-Orbit Entangled Phenomena.

Heavy 5d elements, like osmium, feature strong spin-orbit interactions which are at the origin of exotic physical behaviors. Revealing the full potential of, for example, novel osmium oxide materials ("osmates") is however contingent upon a detailed understanding of the local single-ion properties. Herein, two molecular osmate analogues, [OsF6 ]2- and [OsF6 ]- , are reported as model systems for Os4+ and Os5+ centers found in oxides. Using X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) techniques, combined with state-of-the-art ab initio calculations, their ground state was elucidated; mirroring the osmium electronic structure in osmates. The realization of such molecular model systems provides a unique chemical playground to engineer materials exhibiting spin-orbit entangled phenomena.

Complex Microstructure and Magnetism in Polymorphic CaFeSeO.

The structural complexity of the antiferromagnetic oxide selenide CaFeSeO is described. The compound contains puckered FeSeO layers composed of FeSe2O2 tetrahedra sharing all their vertexes. Two polymorphs coexist that can be derived from an archetype BaZnSO structure by cooperative tilting of the FeSe2O2 tetrahedra. The polymorphs differ in the relative arrangement of the puckered layers of vertex-linked FeSe2O2 tetrahedra. In a noncentrosymmetric Cmc21 polymorph (a = 3.89684(2) Å, b = 13.22054(8) Å, c = 5.93625(2) Å) the layers are related by the C-centering translation, while in a centrosymmetric Pmcn polymorph, with a similar cell metric (a = 3.89557(6) Å, b = 13.2237(6) Å, c = 5.9363(3) Å), the layers are related by inversion. The compound shows long-range antiferromagnetic order below a Neél temperature of 159(1) K with both polymorphs showing antiferromagnetic coupling via Fe-O-Fe linkages and ferromagnetic coupling via Fe-Se-Fe linkages within the FeSeO layers. The magnetic susceptibility also shows evidence for weak ferromagnetism which is modeled in the refinements of the magnetic structure as arising from an uncompensated spin canting in the noncentrosymmetric polymorph. There is also a spin glass component to the magnetism which likely arises from the disordered regions of the structure evident in the transmission electron microscopy.

The Parent Li(OH)FeSe Phase of Lithium Iron Hydroxide Selenide Superconductors.

Lithiation of hydrothermally synthesized Li1-xFex(OH)Fe1-ySe turns on high-temperature superconductivity when iron ions are displaced from the hydroxide layers by reductive lithiation to fill the vacancies in the iron selenide layers. Further lithiation results in reductive iron extrusion from the hydroxide layers, which turns off superconductivity again as the stoichiometric composition Li(OH)FeSe is approached. The results demonstrate the twin requirements of stoichiometric FeSe layers and reduction of Fe below the +2 oxidation state as found in several iron selenide superconductors.

Iridates from the molecular side.

New exotic phenomena have recently been discovered in oxides of paramagnetic Ir(4+) ions, widely known as 'iridates'. Their remarkable properties originate from concerted effects of the crystal field, magnetic interactions and strong spin-orbit coupling, characteristic of 5d metal ions. Despite numerous experimental reports, the electronic structure of these materials is still challenging to elucidate, and not attainable in the isolated, but chemically inaccessible, [IrO6](8-) species (the simplest molecular analogue of the elementary {IrO6}(8-) fragment present in all iridates). Here, we introduce an alternative approach to circumvent this problem by substituting the oxide ions in [IrO6](8-) by isoelectronic fluorides to form the fluorido-iridate: [IrF6](2-). This molecular species has the same electronic ground state as the {IrO6}(8-) fragment, and thus emerges as an ideal model for iridates. These results may open perspectives for using fluorido-iridates as building-blocks for electronic and magnetic quantum materials synthesized by soft chemistry routes.

Soft chemical control of superconductivity in lithium iron selenide hydroxides Li(1-x)Fe(x)(OH)Fe(1-y)Se.

Hydrothermal synthesis is described of layered lithium iron selenide hydroxides Li(1-x)Fe(x)(OH)Fe(1-y)Se (x ∼ 0.2; 0.02 < y < 0.15) with a wide range of iron site vacancy concentrations in the iron selenide layers. This iron vacancy concentration is revealed as the only significant compositional variable and as the key parameter controlling the crystal structure and the electronic properties. Single crystal X-ray diffraction, neutron powder diffraction, and X-ray absorption spectroscopy measurements are used to demonstrate that superconductivity at temperatures as high as 40 K is observed in the hydrothermally synthesized samples when the iron vacancy concentration is low (y < 0.05) and when the iron oxidation state is reduced slightly below +2, while samples with a higher vacancy concentration and a correspondingly higher iron oxidation state are not superconducting. The importance of combining a low iron oxidation state with a low vacancy concentration in the iron selenide layers is emphasized by the demonstration that reductive postsynthetic lithiation of the samples turns on superconductivity with critical temperatures exceeding 40 K by displacing iron atoms from the Li(1-x)Fe(x)(OH) reservoir layer to fill vacancies in the selenide layer.

Metal-to-metal electron transfer in Co/Fe Prussian Blue molecular analogues: the ultimate miniaturization.

Co/Fe Prussian Blue analogues are known to display both thermally and light induced electron transfer attributed to the switching between diamagnetic {Fe(II)LS(µ-CN)Co(III)LS} and paramagnetic {Fe(III)LS(µ-CN)Co(II)HS} pairs (LS = low spin; HS = high spin). In this work, a dinuclear cyanido-bridged Co/Fe complex, the smallest {Fe(µ-CN)Co} moiety at the origin of the remarkable physical properties of these systems, has been designed by a rational building-block approach. Combined structural, spectroscopic, magnetic and photomagnetic studies reveal that a metal-to-metal electron transfer that can be triggered in solid state by light, temperature and solvent contents, is observed for the first time in a dinuclear complex.

Synthesis, structure, and paramagnetism of manganese(II) iminophosphate complexes.

The coordination chemistry of the bidentate bis(imino)bis(amino)phosphate ligands [Me(3)SiN═P{NR}{N(H)R}(2)](-), where R = n-propyl is [L(1)H(2)](-), R = cyclohexyl is [L(2)H(2)](-), and R = tert-butyl is [L(3)H(2)](-), with manganese(II), is described. The bis(imino)bis(amino)phosphate-manganese(II) complexes [(η(5)-Cp)Mn(µ-L(1)H(2))](2) (1), [Mn(L(2)H(2))(2)]·THF (2·THF), and [(η(5)-Cp)Mn(L(3)H(2))] (3) were synthesized by monodeprotonation of the respective pro-ligands by manganocene, Cp(2)Mn. The molecular structures of 1-3 reveal that the steric demands of the ligand N-substituents play a dominant role in determining the aggregation state and overall composition of the manganese(II) complexes. The coordination geometries of the Mn(II) centers are six-coordinate pseudotetrahedral in 1, four-coordinate distorted tetrahedral in 2, and five-coordinate in 3, resulting in formal valence electron counts of 17, 13, and 15, respectively. EPR studies of 1-3 at Q-band reveal high-spin manganese(II) (S = 5/2) in each case. In the EPR spectrum of 1, no evidence of intramolecular magnetic exchange was found. The relative magnitudes of the axial zero-field splitting parameter, D, in 2 and 3 are consistent with the symmetry of the manganese environment, which are D(2d) in 2 and C(2v) in 3.