We report the synthesis of the novel heterometallic complex [Fe(3)Cr(L)(2)(dpm)(6)]⋅Et(2)O (Fe(3)CrPh) (Hdpm=dipivaloylmethane, H(3)L=2-hydroxymethyl-2-phenylpropane-1,3-diol), obtained by replacing the central iron(III) atom by a chromium(III) ion in an Fe(4) propeller-like single-molecule magnet (SMM). Structural and analytical data, high-frequency EPR (HF-EPR) and magnetic studies indicate that the compound is a solid solution of chromium-centred Fe(3)Cr (S=6) and Fe(4) (S=5) species in an 84:16 ratio. Although SMM behaviour is retained, the |D| parameter is considerably reduced as compared with the corresponding tetra-iron(III) propeller (D=-0.179 vs. -0.418 cm(-1)), and results in a lower energy barrier for magnetisation reversal (U(eff)/k(B)=7.0 vs. 15.6 K). The origin of magnetic anisotropy in Fe(3)CrPh has been fully elucidated by preparing its Cr- and Fe-doped Ga(4) analogues, which contain chromium(III) in the central position (c) and iron(III) in two magnetically distinct peripheral sites (p1 and p2). According to HF-EPR spectra, the Cr and Fe dopants have hard-axis anisotropies with D(c)=0.470(5) cm(-1), E(c)=0.029(1) cm(-1), D(p1)=0.710(5) cm(-1), E(p1)=0.077(3) cm(-1), D(p2)=0.602(5) cm(-1), and E(p2)=0.101(3) cm(-1). Inspection of projection coefficients shows that contributions from dipolar interactions and from the central chromium(III) ion cancel out almost exactly. As a consequence, the easy-axis anisotropy of Fe(3)CrPh is entirely due to the peripheral, hard-axis-type iron(III) ions, the anisotropy tensors of which are necessarily orthogonal to the threefold molecular axis. A similar contribution from peripheral ions is expected to rule the magnetic anisotropy in the tetra-iron(III) complexes currently under investigation in the field of molecular spintronics.

Polynuclear single-molecule magnets (SMMs) were diluted in a diamagnetic crystal lattice to afford arrays of independent and iso-oriented magnetic units. Crystalline solid solutions of an Fe(4) SMM and its Ga(4) analogue were prepared with no metal scrambling for Fe(4) molar fractions x down to 0.01. According to high-frequency EPR and magnetic measurements, the guest SMM species have the same total spin (S=5), anisotropy, and high-temperature spin dynamics found in the pure Fe(4) phase. However, suppression of intermolecular magnetic interactions affects magnetic relaxation at low temperature (40 mK), where quantum tunneling (QT) of the magnetization dominates. When a magnetic field is applied along the easy magnetic axis, both pure and diluted (x=0.01) phases display pronounced steps at evenly spaced field values in their hysteresis loops due to resonant QT. The pure Fe(4) phase exhibits additional steps which are firmly ascribed to two-molecule QT transitions. Studies on the field-dependent relaxation rate showed that the zero-field resonance sharpens by a factor of five and shifts from about 8 mT to exactly zero field on dilution, in agreement with the calculated variation of dipolar interactions. The tunneling efficiency also changes significantly as a function of Fe(4) concentration: the zero-field resonance is significantly enhanced on dilution, while tunneling at ±0.45 T becomes less efficient. These changes were rationalized on the basis of a dipolar shuffling mechanism and transverse dipolar fields, whose effect was analyzed by using a multispin model. Our findings directly prove the impact of intermolecular magnetic couplings on SMM behavior and disclose the magnetic response of truly isolated giant spins in a diamagnetic crystalline environment.

Sheltering under the roof: A trisimidazolium cage is capped with a {FeII(bpy)3}2+ subunit to produce a receptor that can bind small anions (bpy=2,2′‐bipyridine). Rodlike “pseudohalide” (N3−, NCO−, and NCS−) and spherical halide (Cl−, Br−, and I−) anions accept hydrogen bonds from CH fragments in the receptor cavity. The N3− ion forms the most stable inclusion compound (see structure; Fe red, C light blue, H white, N dark blue).