magnets, and molecular, cation, and anion recognition agents. This review will focus on two aspects of metallacrown chemistry. First, the expanse of metallacrown structures will be analyzed. Second, the numerous functions of metallacrowns will be explored. The literature is covered through

CommunicationsThe Dy-Mn cluster depicted is the first to behave as a single-molecule magnet. The trimeric Mn III 2 Mn IV "wings" combine with the hexagonal dysprosium ring to from the cluster, which displays an out of phase magnetic susceptibility signal in ac SQUID experiments. For more information, see the Communication by M. L. Kirk, V. L. Pecoraro, and co-workers on the following pages.

The inclusion of Ln(III) ions into the 12-MC-4 framework generates the first heterotrimetallic complexes of this molecular class. The controllable and deliberate preparations of these compounds are demonstrated through 12 crystal structures of the Ln(III)M(I)(OAc)4[12-MCMn(III)(N)shi-4](H2O)4·6DMF complex, where OAc(-) is acetate, shi(3-) is salicylhydroximate, and DMF is N,N-dimethylformamide. Compounds 1-12 have M(I) as Na(I), and Ln(III) can be Pr(III) (1), Nd(III) (2), Sm(III) (3), Eu(III) (4), Gd(III) (5), Tb(III) (6), Dy(III) (7), Ho(III) (8), Er(III) (9), Tm(III) (10), Yb(III) (11), and Y(III) (12). An example with M(I) = K(I) and Ln(III) = Dy(III) is also reported (Dy(III)K(OAc)4[12-MCMn(III)(N)shi-4](DMF)4·DMF (14)). When La(III), Ce(III), or Lu(III) is used as the Ln(III) ions to prepare the Ln(III)Na(I)(OAc)4[12-MCMn(III)(N)shi-4] complex, the compound Na2(OAc)2[12-MCMn(III)(N)shi-4](DMF)6·2DMF·1.60H2O (13) results. For compounds 1-12, the identity of the Ln(III) ion affects the 12-MCMn(III)(N)shi-4 framework as the largest Ln(III), Pr(III), causes an expansion of the 12-MCMn(III)(N)shi-4 framework as demonstrated by the largest metallacrown cavity radius (0.58 Å for 1 to 0.54 Å for 11), and the Pr(III) causes the 12-MCMn(III)(N)shi-4 framework to be the most domed structure as evident in the largest average angle about the axial coordination of the ring Mn(III) ions (103.95° for 1 to 101.69° for 11). For 14, the substitution of K(I) for Na(I) does not significantly affect the 12-MCMn(III)(N)shi-4 framework as many of the structural parameters such as the metallacrown cavity radius (0.56 Å) fall within the range of compounds 1-12. However, the use of the larger K(I) ion does cause the 12-MCMn(III)(N)shi-4 framework to become more planar as evident in a smaller average angle about the axial coordination of the ring Mn(III) ions (101.35°) compared to the analogous Dy(III)/Na(I) (7) complex (102.40°). In addition to broadening the range of structures available through the metallacrown analogy, these complexes allow for the mixing and matching of a diverse range of metals that might permit the fine-tuning of molecular properties where one day they may be exploited as magnetic materials or luminescent agents.

The structural characterization of complexes [Mn(II)4Mn(III)22(pdol)12(OCH3)12(O)16(N3)6] (1) and [Mn(II)4Mn(III)22(pdol)12(OCH3)12(O)16(OH)2(H3O)(OCH3)3].ClO4.5CH3OH (2), where pdol(2-) is di-2-pyridyl methanediol, reveals that each has a metallacryptand shell that encapsulates a manganese oxide core. Variable-temperature direct current magnetic susceptibility measurements on 2 indicate a paramagnetic ground state that results from an overall antiferromagnetic interaction in the cluster, with chiT values decreasing from 300 K (51.2 cm3 K mol(-1)) to 2 K (19.8 cm3 K mol(-1)). Variable-temperature alternating current magnetic susceptibility measurements imply that both 1 and 2 behave as single-molecule magnets. Fitting the frequency-dependent out-of-phase magnetic susceptibility to the Arrhenius equation yields an effective energy barrier, Ueff, to magnetization relaxation of 16.5 +/- 0.7 K (11.5 +/- 0.5 cm(-1)) for 1 and 36.2 +/- 2.0 K (25.1 +/- 1.4 cm(-1)) for 2. The larger value for 2 is in agreement with the lower molecular symmetry, larger magnetoanisotropy, and higher ground spin state of 2 compared to those of 1. This observation suggests a new strategy for increasing the blocking temperatures in high-nuclearity manganese clusters.