Structure and magnetism of two chair-shaped hexanuclear dysprosium(iii) complexes exhibiting slow magnetic relaxation

Abstract

Two novel hexanuclear Dy^III complexes with polyhydroxy Schiff-base ligands, [Dy₆(L¹)₄(μ₃-OH)₄(MeOH)₄]Cl₂·2MeOH·2MeCN (1) and [Dy₆(HL²)₂(μ₃-OH)₂(μ₃-OCH₃)₂(piv)₁₀(MeOH)₂] (2) (H₃L¹ = N,N′-bis(3-methoxysalicylidene)(propylene-2-ol)-1,3-diamine, H₃L² = 2,3-dihydroxypropylimino)methyl)-6-methoxyphenol, piv = pivalate), have been prepared under solvothermal conditions and structurally characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, elemental analyses, thermal analyses, and IR spectroscopy. Each of the hexanuclear complexes is constructed with Dy₃ triangular motifs as building blocks, and the six Dy^III ions are arranged in a chair-shaped conformation. Variable-temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements in the temperature range of 2–300 K indicate dominant ferromagnetic exchange interactions between the Dy^III ions in the complexes. Both complexes exhibit slow magnetic relaxation behavior.