The search for mononuclear lanthanoid-based single-ion magnets (SIMs) has increased the interest in some coordination environments with low coordination numbers, in combination with uniaxial symmetry, as they could maximize the anisotropy of complexes of oblate lanthanoid ions, as disprosium(III). ions as disprosium(III). In this sense, the pentagonal-bipyramid geometry can have ground-state doublets with perfect axiality, and therefore such complexes can be good candidates for SIM. In our particular case, we have used a well-known open planar pentadentate chelating Schiff base ligand as 2,6-bis(1-salicyloylhydrazonoethyl)pyridine) (H4daps) for the synthesis of air-stable pentagonal-bipyramidal LnIII complexes (being Ln: Dy and Er, oblate and prolate, respectively), in order to compare their structures. Thus, reaction of H4daps with (CH3)4N·5H2O, and the corresponding LnCl3·hexahydrate has yielded heptacoordinate [(CH3)4N][LnIII(H2daps)Cl2] complexes, where the tetramethylammonium cation is acting as counterion of pentagonal-bipyramidal LnIII complexes, which are bearing two chloride atoms in apical positions. As both complexes crystallized as single crystals, we can compare their crystal structures as well as with other related complexes in literature, but containing different counterions, trying to see their influence on other properties of the compounds, as their magnetic behavior.
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Ulli
Thank you for your interest in our work.
The ionic radius of YIII and DyIII are very similar. Therefore, it should be possible to obtain an yttrium compound with the same structure as that of the dysprosium complex. In fact, magnetic dilutions of dysprosium compounds are typically made with yttrium analogs, since they are usually isostructural.