Synthesis of new polymetallic iron(III) clusters containing polycarboxylate ligands based on cavity-blocked cyclen

The synthesis and magnetic properties of enneametallic and octametallic Fe(III) cage complexes from tetraazamacrocycle ligands (1,7-H2DO2A) and (H3DO3A) respectively, are reported.     

Limits on intrinsic magnetism in graphene

We have studied magnetization of graphene nanocrystals obtained by sonic exfoliation of graphite. No ferromagnetism is detected at any temperature down to 2?K. Neither do we find strong paramagnetism expected due to the massive amount of edge defects. Rather, graphene is strongly diamagnetic, similar to graphite. Our nanocrystals exhibit only a weak paramagnetic contribution noticeable below 50?K. The measurements yield a single species of defects responsible for the paramagnetism, with approximately one magnetic moment per typical graphene crystallite.     

Neutron correlations in 6He viewed through nuclear break-up

The nuclear break-up of ⁶He on a ²⁰⁸Pb target was studied at 20A MeV using a secondary beam of ⁶He produced by the SPIRAL facility at GANIL. $ \alpha$ -particles were detected in coincidence with two neutrons with a large angular coverage and the reaction mechanism was identified. From the distribution of the relative angles between the two neutrons the correlation function was extracted. It shows a strong correlation at small relative angles attributed to the contribution of the di-neutron configuration of ⁶He .     

Iron(II) cage complexes of N-heterocyclic amide and bis(trimethylsilyl)amide ligands: synthesis, structure, and magnetic properties

Metallation of hexahydropyrimidopyrimidine (hppH) by [Fe{N(SiMe(3))(2)}(2)] (1) produces the trimetallic iron(II) amide cage complex [{(Me(3)Si)(2)NFe}(2)(hpp)(4)Fe] (2), which contains three iron(II) centers, each of which resides in a distorted tetrahedral environment. An alternative, one-pot route that avoids use of the highly air-sensitive complex 1 is described for the synthesis of the iron(II)-lithium complex [{(Me(3)Si)(2)N}(2)Fe{Li(bta)}](2) (3) (where btaH = benzotriazole), in which both iron(II) centers reside in 3-coordinated pyramidal environments. The structure of 3 is also interpreted in terms of the ring laddering principle developed for alkali metal amides. Magnetic susceptibility measurements reveal that both compounds display very weak antiferromagnetic exchange between the iron(II) centers, and that the iron(II) centers in 2 and 3 possess large negative axial zero-field splittings.     

Chemical control of spin propagation between heterometallic rings

We present a synthetic, structural, theoretical, and spectroscopic study of a family of heterometallic ring dimers which have the formula [{Cr(7)NiF(3)(Etglu)(O(2)CtBu)(15)}(2)(NLN)], in which Etglu is the pentadeprotonated form of the sugar N-ethyl-D-glucamine, and NLN is an aromatic bridging diimine ligand. By varying NLN we are able to adjust the strength of the interaction between rings with the aim of understanding how to tune our system to achieve weak magnetic communication between the spins, a prerequisite for quantum entanglement. Micro-SQUID and EPR data reveal that the magnetic coupling between rings is partly related to the through-bond distance between the spin centers, but also depends on spin-polarization mechanisms and torsion angles between aromatic rings. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations allow us to make predictions of how such chemically variable parameters could be used to tune very precisely the interaction in such systems. For possible applications in quantum information processing and molecular spintronics, such precise control is essential.     

Octa- and hexametallic iron(III)-potassium phosphonate cages

Two new iron(III)-potassium phosphonate cage complexes with {K(2)Fe(6)} and {K(2)Fe(4)} cores are reported. Magnetic studies reveal antiferromagnetic interactions between the Fe(III) centres occur in these cages.     

Pentametallic lanthanide-alkoxide square-based pyramids: high energy barrier for thermal relaxation in a holmium single molecule magnet

Pentametallic Ln complexes of formula [Ln(5)O(O(i)Pr)(13)] have been made, where Ln(III) = Sm, Gd, Tb, Ho and Er; slow magnetisation relaxation to 33 K is observed for the Ho complex with an energy barrier of ca. 400 K.