Nickel(II)–Lanthanide(III) Magnetic Exchange Coupling Influencing Single‐Molecule Magnetic Features in {Ni₂Ln₂} Complexes

Abstract

Four isostructural [Ni2 Ln2 (CH3 CO2 )3 (HL)4 (H2 O)2 ](3+) (Ln(3+) =Dy (1), Tb (2), Ho (3) or Lu (4)) complexes and a dinuclear [NiGd(HL)2 (NO3 )3 ] (5) complex are reported (where HL=2-methoxy-6-[(E)-2'-hydroxymethyl-phenyliminomethyl]-phenolate). For compounds 1-3 and 5, the Ni(2+) ions are ferromagnetically coupled to the respective lanthanide ions. The ferromagnetic coupling in 1 suppresses the quantum tunnelling of magnetisation (QTM), resulting in a rare zero dc field Ni-Dy single-molecule magnet, with an anisotropy barrier Ueff of 19 K.