Nitrate-Bridged "Pseudo-Double-Propeller"-Type Lanthanide(III)-Copper(II) Heterometallic Clusters: Syntheses, Structures, and Magnetic Properties

Two discrete nitrate-bridged novel "pseudo-double-propeller"-shaped hexanuclear Cu/Ln clusters of the formula Cu(4)Ln(2)L(4)L'(4)(NO(3))(2)(OH(2))(2)]·3NO(3)·4H(2)O Ln = Dy, Gd; LH = o-vanilin; L'H = 2-(hydroxyethyl)pyridine] were synthesized and characterized. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies revealed the trimeric half-propeller-type Cu(2)/Ln core connected to other opposite-handed similar trimers by a bridging nitrate ligand. The Dy analogue, Cu(4)Dy(2)L(4)L'(4)(NO(3))(2)(OH(2))(2)]·3NO(3)·4H(2)O, shows frequency-dependent out-of-phase alternating-current magnetic susceptibility, which indicates that this novel discrete Cu(4)Dy(2)] heterometallic cluster may exhibit single-molecule-magnet behavior.