Liquid-crystalline dendrimer Cu(II) complexes and Cu(0) nanoclusters based on the Cu(II) complexes: An electron paramagnetic resonance investigation

New nanostructured materials, namely, the liquid-crystalline copper(II) complexes that contain poly(propylene imine) dendrimer ligands of the first (ligand 1) and second (ligand 2) generations and which have a columnar mesophase and different copper contents (x = Cu/L), are investigated by EPR spectroscopy. The influence of water molecules and nitrate counterions on the magnetic properties of complex 2 (x = 7.3) is studied. It is demonstrated that water molecules can extract some of the copper ions from dendrimer complexes and form hexaaqua copper complexes with free ions. The dimer spectra of fully hydrated complex 2 (x = 7.3) are observed at temperatures T < 10 K. For this complex, the structure is identified and the distance between the copper ions is determined. It is shown that the nitrate counterion plays the role of a bridge between the hexaaqua copper(II) complex and the dendrimer copper(II) complex. The temperature-induced valence tautomerism attended by electron transport is revealed for the first time in blue dendrimer complexes 1 (x = 1.9) with a dimer structure. The activation energy for electron transport is estimated to be 0.35 meV. The coordination of the copper ion site (NO₄) and the structural arrangement of green complexes 1 (x = 1.9) in the columnar mesophase are determined. Complexes of this type form linear chains in which nitrate counterions serve as bridges between copper centers. It is revealed that green complexes 1 (x = 1.9) dissolved in isotropic inert solvents can be oriented in the magnetic field (B ₀ = 8000 G). The degree of orientation of these complexes is rather high (S _z = 0.76) and close to that of systems with a complete ordering (S _z = 1) in the magnetic field. Copper(0) nanoclusters prepared by reduction of complex 2 (x = 7.3) in two reducing agents (NaBH₄, N₂H₄ · H₂O) are examined. A model is proposed for a possible location of Cu(0) nanoclusters in a dendrimer matrix.