Ferromagnetic coupling of copper(II) and nickel(II) complexes with a cyclam-based paramagnetic host

Bis(NN–CH₂)-substituted dimethylcyclam (cyclamNN₂) was designed and synthesized as a paramagnetic host, where NN stands for 4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazolin-1-oxyl 3-oxide. We prepared transition-metal complexes [M(cyclamNN₂)](ClO₄)₂ (M = Cu (1), Ni (2)) and investigated their metal–radial exchange couplings. The copper ion in 1 is located at the center of the cyclam cavity and one radical arm is coordinated at an axial position. Compound 1 showed ferromagnetic coupling (2J/k_B = +44(3) K), which is ascribable to the NN–Cu coupling. Ferromagnetic coupling was also observed in 2, but the molecular structure was unknown at present. The Curie–Weiss analysis gave the Weiss temperature (θ) of +13.5(6) K for 2.