Polarized Neutron Diffraction as a Tool for Mapping Molecular Magnetic Anisotropy: Local Susceptibility Tensors in CoII Complexes

Polarized neutron diffraction (PND) experiments were carried out at low temperature to characterize with high precision the local magnetic anisotropy in two paramagnetic high‐spin cobalt(II) complexes, namely [Co^II(dmf)₆](BPh₄)₂ ( 1 ) and [Co^II₂(sym‐hmp)₂](BPh₄)₂ ( 2 ), in which dmf=N,N‐dimethylformamide; sym‐hmp=2,6‐bis[(2‐hydroxyethyl)methylaminomethyl]‐4‐methylphenolate, and BPh₄^?=tetraphenylborate. This allowed a unique and direct determination of the local magnetic susceptibility tensor on each individual Co^II site. In compound 1 , this approach reveals the correlation between the single‐ion easy magnetization direction and a trigonal elongation axis of the Co^II coordination octahedron. In exchange‐coupled dimer 2 , the determination of the individual Co^II magnetic susceptibility tensors provides a clear outlook of how the local magnetic properties on both Co^II sites deviate from the single‐ion behavior because of antiferromagnetic exchange coupling.     

Uncompensated magnetization in the layered molecular antiferromagnet {N(n-C5H11)4[MnFe(ox)3]}∞

Studies on the magnetic properties of the molecular antiferromagnetic material {N(n-C₅H₁₁)₄[Mn^IIFe^III(ox)₃]}_∞, carried out by various physical techniques (AC/DC magnetic susceptibility, magnetization, heat capacity measurements and Mössbauer spectroscopy) at low temperatures, have been presented. Different experimental observations complement each other and provide a clue for the observation of an uncompensated magnetization below the Néel temperature and short-range correlations persisting high above T_N. It is understood that the honeycomb layered structure of the compound contains non-equivalent magnetic sub-lattices, (Mn^II–ox–Fe^III_A–...) and (Mn^II–ox–Fe^III_B–...), where different responses of the Fe^III_A and Fe^III_B spin sites towards an external magnetic field might be responsible for the observation of the uncompensated magnetization in this compound at T < T_N. The present magnetic system is an S = 5/2 2-D Heisenberg antiferromagnet system with the intralayer exchange parameter J/k_B = −3.29 K. A very weak interlayer exchange interaction was anticipated from the spin wave modeling of the magnetic heat capacity for T < 0.5T_N. The positive sign of the coupling between the layers has been concluded from the Mössbauer spectrum in the applied magnetic field. Frustration in the magnetic interactions gives rise to the uncompensated magnetic moment in this compound at low temperatures.     

Simultaneous Modulation of Magnetic and Dielectric Transition via Spin‐Crossover‐Tuned Spin Arrangement and Charge Distribution

Magnetic and dielectric properties have been tuned simultaneously by external stimuli with rapid and sensitive response, which is crucial to monitor the magnetic state via capacitive measurement. Herein, positive charged Fe^II ions were linked via negative charged [(Tp)Fe^III(CN)₃]^? (Tp=hydrotris(pyrazolyl)borate) units to form a neutral chain. The spin‐crossover (SCO) on Fe^II sites could be sensitively triggered via thermal treatment, light irradiation, and pressure. SCO switched the spin state of the Fe^II ions and antiferromagnetic interactions between Fe^III and Fe^II ions, resulting in significant change in magnetization. Moreover, SCO induced rotation of negative charged [(Tp)Fe^III(CN)₃]^? units, generating dielectric anomaly due to geometric change of charges distribution. This work provides a rational way to manipulate simultaneous variations in magnetic and dielectric properties utilizing SCO as an actuator to tune spin arrangement, magnetic coupling, and charge distribution.     

Heat-induced changes in microstructure and magnetic properties of Co0.75Ni0.75[Fe(CN)6] · XH2O

Polycrystalline Co_0.75Ni_0.75[Fe(CN)₆]?·?XH₂O was prepared by coprecipitation. The coprecipitated powder was annealed in vacuum at 80°C, 100°C, and 130°C. Variation of microstructural and magnetic properties with different annealed temperatures was studied by Fourier-transform infrared, X-ray diffraction, and magnetization measurements. The differences in magnetic phase transition temperature, coercivity, remanence, and effective magnetization were studied in detail. The magnetic contribution mainly results from Fe^III–CN–Co^II/Ni^II and Fe^III–NC–Co^II/Ni^II because Fe^II–CN–Co^III/Ni^II carries no net spin. After annealing at 130°C, the microstructures Fe^III–CN–Co^II/Ni^II and Fe^III–NC–Co^II/Ni^II convert to Fe^II–CN–Co^III/Ni^II. Differences in magnetic properties may be attributed to heat-induced microstructural changes.     

Origin of the Magnetic Anisotropy in Heptacoordinate NiII and CoII Complexes

The nature and magnitude of the magnetic anisotropy of heptacoordinate mononuclear Ni^II and Co^II complexes were investigated by a combination of experiment and ab initio calculations. The zero‐field splitting (ZFS) parameters D of [Ni(H₂DAPBH)(H₂O)₂](NO₃)₂ ? 2 H₂O ( 1 ) and [Co(H₂DAPBH)(H₂O)(NO₃)](NO₃) [ 2 ; H₂DAPBH=2,6‐diacetylpyridine bis‐ (benzoyl hydrazone)] were determined by means of magnetization measurements and high‐field high‐frequency EPR spectroscopy. The negative D value, and hence an easy axis of magnetization, found for the Ni^II complex indicates stabilization of the highest M_S value of the S=1 ground spin state, while a large and positive D value, and hence an easy plane of magnetization, found for Co^II indicates stabilization of the M_S=±1/2 sublevels of the S=3/2 spin state. Ab initio calculations were performed to rationalize the magnitude and the sign of D, by elucidating the chemical parameters that govern the magnitude of the anisotropy in these complexes. The negative D value for the Ni^II complex is due largely to a first excited triplet state that is close in energy to the ground state. This relatively small energy gap between the ground and the first excited state is the result of a small energy difference between the d_xy and ${{\rm{d}}_{x^2 - y^2 } }$ orbitals owing to the pseudo‐pentagonal‐bipyramidal symmetry of the complex. For Co^II, all of the excited states contribute to a positive D value, which accounts for the large magnitude of the anisotropy for this complex.     

Structure and Magnetic Ordering of the Anomalous Layered (2D) Ferrimagnet [NEt4]2MnII3(CN)8 and 3D Bridged‐Layered Antiferromagnet [NEt4]MnII3(CN)7 Prussian Blue Analogues

The reaction of Mn^II and [NEt₄]CN leads to the isolation of solvated [NEt₄]Mn₃(CN)₇ ( 1 ) and [NEt₄]₂Mn₃(CN)₈ ( 2 ), which have hexagonal unit cells [ 1 : R$\bar 3$ m, a=8.0738(1), c=29.086(1) Å; 2 : P$\bar 3$ m1, a=7.9992(3), c=14.014(1) Å] rather than the face centered cubic lattice that is typical of Prussian blue structured materials. The formula units of both 1 and 2 are composed of one low‐ and two high‐spin Mn^II ions. Each low‐spin, octahedral [Mn^II(CN)₆]^4? bonds to six high‐spin tetrahedral Mn^II ions through the N atoms, and each of the tetrahedral Mn^II ions are bound to three low‐spin octahedral [Mn^II(CN)₆]^4? moieties. For 2 , the fourth cyanide on the tetrahedral Mn^II site is C bound and is terminal. In contrast, it is orientationally disordered and bridges two tetrahedral Mn^II centers for 1 forming an extended 3D network structure. The layers of octahedra are separated by 14.01 Å (c axis) for 2 , and 9.70 Å (c/3) for 1 . The [NEt₄]⁺ cations and solvent are disordered and reside between the layers. Both 1 and 2 possess antiferromagnetic superexchange coupling between each low‐spin (S=1/2) octahedral Mn^II site and two high‐spin (S=5/2) tetrahedral Mn^II sites within a layer. Analogue 2 orders as a ferrimagnet at 27(±1) K with a coercive field and remanent magnetization of 1140 Oe and 22 800 emuOe mol^?1, respectively, and the magnetization approaches saturation of 49 800 emuOe mol^?1 at 90 000 Oe. In contrast, the bonding via bridging cyanides between the ferrimagnetic layers leads to antiferromagnetic coupling, and 3D structured 1 has a different magnetic behavior to 2 . Thus, 1 is a Prussian blue analogue with an antiferromagnetic ground state [T_c=27 K from d(χT)/dT].     

Redox Switches for Single‐Molecule Magnet Activity: An Ab Initio Insight

A dinuclear Co^II complex ( 1 ) featuring unprecedented anodic and cathodic switches for single‐molecule magnet (SMM) activity has been recently investigated (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2013 , 135, 14670). The presence of sandwiched radicals in different oxidation states of this compound mediates magnetic coupling between the high‐spin (S=3/2) cobalt ions, which gives rise to SMM activity in both the oxidized ([ 1 (OEt₂)]⁺) and reduced ([ 1 ]^?) states. This feature represents the first example of a SMM exhibiting fully reversible, dual ON/OFF switchability. Here we apply ab initio and broken‐symmetry DFT calculations to elucidate the mechanisms responsible for magnetic properties and magnetization blocking in these compounds. It is found that due to the strong delocalization of the magnetic molecular orbital, there is a strong antiferromagnetic interaction between the radical and cobalt ions. The lack of high axiality of the cobalt centres explains why these compounds possess slow relaxation of magnetization only in an applied dc magnetic field.     

Heterospin mixed-ligand heterotrinuclear Co<Superscript>II</Superscript>, Gd<Superscript>III</Superscript>, Co<Superscript>II</Superscript> complex with nitronyl nitroxide

A method was developed for the synthesis of mixed-metal heterospin compounds with the direct coordination of the nitroxide fragment based on the replacement of acetonitrile molecules in the heterotrinuclear complex [Co₂Gd(NO₃)Piv₆(CH₃CN)₂] with nitroxide molecules. The molecular and crystal structure of the heterospin mixed-ligand heterotrinuclear Co^II, Gd^III, Co^II complex [Co₂Gd(NO₃)Piv₆(NIT-Me)₂], where NIT-Me is stable nitronyl nitroxide, was established. The magnetic properties of this complex were investigated in the temperature range of 2–300 K. The coordination of nitroxide groups to Co^II ions is responsible for strong exchange interactions between the unpaired electrons in the exchange clusters {>-·O-Co^II}, resulting in the virtually complete spin coupling between each coordinated >N-·O group and one of the unpaired electrons of each Co^II ion at temperatures below 200 K. Dedicated to Academician G. A. Abakumov on the occasion of his 70th birthday. Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 9, pp. 1742–1745, September, 2007.     

Theoretical study on photoinduced magnetization process: Possible meta-stable molecular structure for a photomagnetic high-spin molecule [MoIV(CN)2(CN-CuL)6]8+

An intermediate in photoinduced magnetization process for the photomagnetic high-spin molecule [Mo^IV(CN)₂(CN-CuL)₆]⁸⁺ is studied with quantum chemistry calculations of the density functional theory and the ab initio multireference configuration interaction methods. It is found that the intramolecular electronic transfer from Mo^IV to Cu^II leads one trigonal-bipyamid coordinated Cu^II to be changed to the tetrahedral coordinated Cu^I with the light irradiation. The calculated magnetic properties show that the paramagnetic system [Mo^IV(CN)₂(CN-Cu^IIL)₆]⁸⁺ with six isolated spin 1/2 Cu ions is changed to ferromagnetic coupling high-spin system [Mo^V(CN)₂(CN-Cu^IIL)₅(CN-Cu^IL)]⁸⁺. These calculations will help to understand photoinduced magnetization phenomenon and provide a clue for the synthesization of new reversible photoinduced magnetic compounds.     

Structural Tailoring Effects on the Magnetic Behavior of Symmetric and Asymmetric Cubane‐Type Ni complexes

Using two kinds of carboxylate ligands with small but significant differences in steric size, symmetric and asymmetric Fe^II and Ni^II cubanes have been synthesized in a controlled fashion. Fast sweeping pulsed field measurements showed magnetization hysteresis loops for two cubane‐type molecular complexes, [Ni₄(μ‐OMe)₄(O₂CAr^4F‐Ph)₄(HOMe)₈] and [Ni₄(μ‐OMe)₄(O₂CAr^Tol)₄(HOMe)₆], thus suggesting single‐molecule magnet behavior. To differentiate the magnetic properties between the symmetric and asymmetric cubanes, detailed electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) measurements were performed. From the EPR data, taken at various frequencies and temperatures, zero‐field splitting parameters D, E, and other higher‐order parameters for both cubane samples were extracted. Compared to the symmetric Ni‐cubane, the asymmetric one shows an increase in the D and E values by about 20 %, thereby suggesting structural engineering effects on the magnetic properties. By using the magnetic parameters determined by EPR, a static magnetization curve at 2 K and a temperature dependence of the magnetic susceptibility were simulated. A good agreement between theoretical and experimental data confirms the validity of the values obtained from EPR measurements.     

Synthesis,Structure and Magnetic Properties of a MnII Framework Assembled by Two Carboxylate Ligands

The 3D framework [Mn₃(CH₃COO)₂(HCOO)₄]_n · nDMF ( 1 ) was obtained from the assembly of Mn^II ions with acetate and the in‐situ generated formate ligands. It features Mn‐centered MnMn₄ tetrahedral nodes, each of which is linked to another four ones by sharing the apexes to form the 3D framework of 1 . Each of the acetate and formate ligands behaves as a syn‐syn:anti bridge to link two apical Mn^II ions and the central Mn^II ion. The magnetic measurement of 1 revealed the coexistence of spin‐canted antiferromagnetism and metamagnetism. It represents a typical example to synergistically use two kinds of carboxylate ligands to construct metal‐organic frameworks, as well as to tune the structure and magnetic properties of the aimed complex.     

Multimetal‐Substituted Epsilon‐Iron Oxide ϵ‐Ga0.31Ti0.05Co0.05Fe1.59O3 for Next‐Generation Magnetic Recording Tape in the Big‐Data Era

From the viewpoints of large capacity, long‐term guarantee, and low cost, interest in magnetic recording tapes has undergone a revival as an archive storage media for big data. Herein, we prepared a new series of metal‐substituted ?‐Fe₂O₃, ?‐Ga^III_0.31Ti^IV_0.05Co^II_0.05Fe^III_1.59O₃, nanoparticles with an average size of 18 nm. Ga, Ti, and Co cations tune the magnetic properties of ?‐Fe₂O₃ to the specifications demanded for a magnetic recording tape. The coercive field was tuned to 2.7 kOe by introduction of single‐ion anisotropy on Co^II (S=3/2) along the c‐axis. The saturation magnetization was increased by 44 % with Ga^III (S=0) and Ti^IV (S=0) substitution through the enhancement of positive sublattice magnetizations. The magnetic tape media was fabricated using an actual production line and showed a very sharp signal response and a remarkably high signal‐to‐noise ratio compared to the currently used magnetic tape.     

Octacyanidotungstate(IV) Coordination Chains Demonstrate a Light‐Induced Excited Spin State Trapping Behavior and Magnetic Exchange Photoswitching

A huge increase in the magnetization of two coordination chains based on tetravalent octacyanidometalates (W^IV and Mo^IV) is observed on irradiation with 436 nm light, while no such behavior is observed for the Nb^IV analogue. A photomagnetic response based solely on [W^IV(CN)₈]⁴⁻ is demonstrated for the first time. The observed behavior is attributed to the light‐induced excited spin state trapping (LIESST) effect at the octacyanidometalate, and to the resulting magnetic exchange ON/OFF photoswitching between the Mn^II center and the photoinduced high‐spin (S =1) W^IV or Mo^IV centers.     

Isomorphous Catena Transition Metal Squarates [MII(C4O4)(dmso)2(OH2)2] (M = Co,Mn) and Magnetic Investigation into their Solid Solution M = CoxMn1–x

The crystal structures of two new isomorphous transition metal squarato complexes [M^II(C₄O₄)(dmso)₂(OH₂)₂] [M^II = Co^II (3d⁷), Mn^II (3d⁵); dmso = dimethylsulfoxide] and their magnetic properties are reported. The compounds feature two symmetrically independent chains, in which 1,3‐bridging squarato ligands connect cations in distorted octahedral surroundings of pseudo‐symmetry D_4h. From an equimolar solution of CoCl₂ · 6H₂O and MnCl₂ · 2H₂O a mixed‐metal coordination polymer crystallizes; it represents a solid solution and adopts the same structure as the corresponding monometallic compounds. The results of the diffraction experiment unambiguously proof the presence of both Co^II and Mn^II cations in either independent site albeit no precise ratio between the metal cations involved may be deduced from these findings. The difference in the magnetic properties between Co^II and Mn^II cations in the given ligand field has allowed us to establish their ratio in the solid solution more reliably than by X‐ray diffraction: Accounting for ligand field potential and spin‐orbit coupling of Co^II and regarding Mn^II as a pure spin system, the calculations yielded a fraction of 73 % Co^II in the mixed‐metal polymer. With respect to superexchange effects only weak antiferromagnetic interactions have been detected for the three coordination polymers.     

Synthesis, structure and magnetic properties of two new coordination polymers with carboxylate-substituted benzoimidazole ligands

This paper reports two new coordination polymers formed by carboxylate-substituted benzoimidazole and formate ligands: [Mn(L)·(HCO2)]n (1) and [Co(L)·(HCO2)]n (2) (L = benzoimidazol-1-yl-acetate). Com-plexes 1 and 2 are isomorphous and adopt a new 3,6-connected three-nodal topology showing inter-esting magnetic properties: spin canted antiferromagnetism for MnⅡ complex 1, but simple antiferro-magnetic coupling for CoⅡ complex 2.     

A Redox‐Active Bridging Ligand to Promote Spin Delocalization,High‐Spin Complexes,and Magnetic Multi‐Switchability

A dinuclear Co^II complex, [Co₂(tphz)(tpy)₂]ⁿ⁺ (n=4, 3 or 2; tphz: tetrapyridophenazine; tpy: terpyridine), has been assembled using the redox‐active and strongly complexing tphz bridging ligand. The magnetic properties of this complex can be tuned from spin‐crossover with T_1/2≈470 K for the pristine compound (n=4) to single‐molecule magnet with an S_T=5/2 spin ground state when once reduced (n=3) to finally a diamagnetic species when twice reduced (n=2). The two successive and reversible reductions are concomitant with an increase of the spin delocalization within the complex, promoting remarkably large magnetic exchange couplings and high‐spin species even at room temperature.     

A Redox‐Active Bridging Ligand to Promote Spin Delocalization,High‐Spin Complexes,and Magnetic Multi‐Switchability

A dinuclear Co^II complex, [Co₂(tphz)(tpy)₂]ⁿ⁺ (n=4, 3 or 2; tphz: tetrapyridophenazine; tpy: terpyridine), has been assembled using the redox‐active and strongly complexing tphz bridging ligand. The magnetic properties of this complex can be tuned from spin‐crossover with T_1/2≈470 K for the pristine compound (n=4) to single‐molecule magnet with an S_T=5/2 spin ground state when once reduced (n=3) to finally a diamagnetic species when twice reduced (n=2). The two successive and reversible reductions are concomitant with an increase of the spin delocalization within the complex, promoting remarkably large magnetic exchange couplings and high‐spin species even at room temperature.     

Spin Crossover Properties of the [Fe( PM - BiA )2(NCS)2] Complex – Phases I and II

Summary.  In the present review, we reexamine the photomagnetic properties of the [Fe(PM-BiA)₂(NCS)₂], cis-bis(thiocyanato)-bis[(N-2′-pyridylmethylene)-4-(aminobiphenyl)]iron(II), compound which exhibits, depending on the synthetic method, an exceptionally abrupt spin transition (phase I) with a very narrow hysteresis (T _1/2↓ = 168 K and T _1/2↑ = 173 K) or a gradual spin conversion (phase II) occurring at 190 K. In both cases, light irradiation in the tail of the ¹MLCT-LS absorption band, at 830 nm, results in the population of the high-spin state according to the light-induced excited spin-state trapping (LIESST) effect. The capacity of a compound to retain the light-induced HS information, estimated through the T(LIESST) experiment, is determined for both phases. Interestingly, the shape of the T(LIESST) curve is more gradual for the phase II than for the phase I and the T(LIESST) value is found considerably lower in the case of the phase II. The kinetics parameters involved in the photoinduced high-spin→low-spin relaxation process are estimated for both phases. From these data, the experimental T(LIESST) curves are simulated and the particular influence of the cooperativity as well as of the parameters involved in the thermally activated and tunneling regions are discussed. The Light-Induced Thermal Hysteresis (LITH), originally described for the strongly cooperative phase I, is also reinvestigated. The quasi-static LITH loop is determined by recording the photostationary points in the warming and cooling branches. Corresponding authors. E-mail: letard@icmcb.u-bordeaux.fr Received August 26, 2002; accepted August 30, 2002     

[Fe(TPT)2/3{MI(CN)2}2]⋅nSolv (MI=Ag,Au): New Bimetallic Porous Coordination Polymers with Spin‐Crossover Properties

Two new heterobimetallic porous coordination polymers with the formula [Fe(TPT)_2/3{M^I(CN)₂}₂] ? nSolv (TPT=[(2,4,6‐tris(4‐pyridyl)‐1,3,5‐triazine]; M^I=Ag (nSolv=0, 1 MeOH, 2 CH₂Cl₂), Au (nSolv=0, 2 CH₂Cl₂)) have been synthesized and their crystal structures were determined at 120 K and 293 K by single‐crystal X‐ray analysis. These structures crystallized in the trigonal R‐3m space group. The Fe^II ion resides at an inversion centre that defines a [FeN₆] coordination core. Four dicyanometallate groups coordinate at the equatorial positions, whilst the axial positions are occupied by the TPT ligand. Each TPT ligand is centred in a ternary axis and bridges three crystallographically equivalent Fe^II ions, whilst each dicyanometallate group bridges two crystallographically equivalent Fe^II ions that define a 3D network with the topology of NbO. There are two such networks, which interpenetrate each other, thereby giving rise to large spaces in which very labile solvent molecules are included (CH₂Cl₂ or MeOH). Crystallographic analysis confirmed the reversible structural changes that were associated with the occurrence of spin‐crossover behaviour at the Fe^II ions, the most significant structural variation being the change in unit‐cell volume (about 59 ų per Fe^II ion). The spin‐crossover behaviour has been monitored by means of thermal dependence of the magnetic properties, Mössbauer spectroscopy, and calorimetry.     

Magnetic Anisotropy of Cyanide‐Bridged Core and Core–Shell Coordination Nanoparticles Probed by X‐ray Magnetic Circular Dichroism

The local symmetry and local magnetic properties of 6 nm‐sized, bimetallic, cyanide‐bridged CsNiCr(CN)₆ coordination nanoparticles 1 and 8 nm‐sized, trimetallic, CsNiCr(CN)₆@CsCoCr(CN)₆ core–shell nanoparticles 2 were studied by X‐ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and X‐ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD). The measurements were performed at the Ni^II, Co^II, and Cr^III L_2,3 edges. This study revealed the presence of distorted Ni^II sites located on the particle surface of 1 that account for the uniaxial magnetic anisotropy observed by SQUID measurements. For the core–shell particles, a combination of the exchange anisotropy between the core and the shell and the pronounced anisotropy of the Co^II ions is the origin of the large increase in coercive field from 120 to 890 Oe on going from 1 to 2 . In addition, XMCD allows the relative orientation of the magnetic moments throughout the core–shell particles to be determined. While for the bimetallic particles of 1 , alignment of the magnetic moments of Cr^III ions with those of Ni^II ions leads to uniform magnetization, in the core–shell particles 2 the magnetic moments of the isotropic Cr^III follow those of Co^II ions in the shell and those of Ni^II ions in the core, and this leads to nonuniform magnetization in the whole nanoobject, mainly due to the large difference in local anisotropy between the Co^II ions belonging to the surface and the Ni^II ions in the core.