Trinuclear Dy(III) Single-Molecule Magnets with Two-Step Relaxation

The reaction of DyCl3⋅6H2O with a rigid diacylhydrazone ligand (H2L) afforded a trinuclear precursor [Dy3L2Cl3(H2O)2(CH3OH)]Cl2⋅3CH3OH (1). The replacement of the Cl– ions and the coordinating solvents by the aryloxides ligands (Lx)– yields three trinuclear complexes [Dy3L2(Lx)5]⋅nsol (x = 1,2-naphthol (2); x = 2,7-hydroxycoumarin (3); and x = 3, phenol (4)). In complexes 2—4, two end Dy3+ centers adopt almost identical N4O4 coordination sphere of D6h geometry while the central one adopts N4O5 coordination sphere in Cs geometry. Magnetic measurements reveal weak antiferromagnetic interactions in the hydrated samples 2e—4e and two-step slow relaxation process under zero dc field with effective energy barriers Ueff of 439 and 91 K, 353 and 40 K, 466 and 89 K for SR and FR in 2e—4e, respectively. Such dynamic magnetic behaviour for 4 persists in the magnetically diluted sample of 4@Y. Complex 4 possesses the short Dy-Oaryloxide bond distance of 2.055(18) Å, and the largest Ueff among the reported linear trinuclear dysprosium complexes. Moreover, the functionalized aryloxides ligands (Lx)– show photoluminescence via intramolecular energy transfer, making 2e—4e luminescent Dy3+ SMMs with high energy barriers. (Figure presented.) © 2023 SIOC, CAS, Shanghai, & WILEY-VCH GmbH.