Syntheses, structures, and magnetic properties of salen type Cu–Gd dimer and hexamer complexes with strong ferromagnetic interactions

Two salen type heteronuclear Cu–Gd complexes, namely, [(GdCuL1Cl3(CH3OH)2] (1) and [Gd2Cu4L24Cl2(OH)](PF6)3 (2) (H2L1 = N,N′-bis(2-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzylidene)-1,2-diaminocyclohexane and H2L2 = N,N′-bis(2-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzylidene)-1,3-diaminopropane) have been isolated. X-ray crystallographic analysis shows that 1 is of a typical neutral heterodinuclear Cu–Gd structure, while 2 features an unusual ionic hexanuclear Cu–Gd structure. Magnetic analysis reveals the dominant ferromagnetic interactions within the clusters.

Graphical abstractWe present the syntheses, structure, and magnetic properties of two new Cu–Gd complexes based on salen-type ligands, including a hexanuclear compound that utilizes the PF6− counterion.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slideHighlights► Ferromagnetic Gd–Cu dimer and hexamer clusters. ► Polynuclear cluster utilizing PF6− counter ions. ► Exact diagonalization for precise parameterization of magnetization.