The cyano-bridged trinuclear compound, (NEt(4))[Mn(2)(salmen)(2)(MeOH)(2)Fe(CN)(6)] (1) (salmen(2)(-) = rac-N,N'-(1-methylethylene)bis(salicylideneiminate)), reported previously by Miyasaka et al. (ref 19d) has been reinvestigated using combined ac and dc susceptibility measurements. The strong frequency dependence of the ac susceptibility and the slow relaxation of the magnetization show that 1 behaves as a single-molecule magnet with an S(T) = (9)/(2) spin ground state. Its relaxation time (tau) follows an Arrhenius law with tau(0) = 2.5 x 10(-)(7) s and Delta(eff)/k(B) = 14 K. Moreover, below 0.3 K, tau saturates around 470 s, indicating that quantum tunneling of the magnetization becomes the dominant process of relaxation. (NEt(4))[Mn(2) (5-MeOsalen)(2)Fe(CN)(6)] (2) (5-MeOsalen(2)(-) = N,N'-ethylenebis(5-methoxysalicylideneiminate)) is a heterometallic one-dimensional assembly made of the trinuclear [Mn(III)(SB)-NC-Fe(III)-CN-Mn(III)(SB)] (SB is a salen-type Schiff-base ligand) motif similar to 1. Compound 2 has two types of bridges, a cyano bridge (-NC-) and a biphenolate bridge (-(O)(2)-), connecting Mn(III) and Fe(III) ions and the two Mn(III) ions, respectively. Both bridges mediate ferromagnetic interactions, as shown by modeling the magnetic susceptibility above 10 K with g(av) = 2.03, J(Mn)(-)(Fe)/k(B) = +6.5 K, and J'/k(B) = +0.07 K, where J' is the exchange coupling between the trimer units. The dc magnetic measurements of a single crystal using micro-SQUID and Hall-probe magnetometers revealed a uniaxial anisotropy (D(T)/k(B) = -0.94 K) with an easy axis lying along the chain direction. Frequency dependence of the ac susceptibility and time dependence of the dc magnetization have been performed to study the slow relaxation of the magnetization. A mean relaxation time has been found, and its temperature dependence has been studied. Above 1.4 K, both magnetic susceptibility and relaxation time are in agreement with the dynamics described in the 1960s by R. J. Glauber for one-dimensional systems with ferromagnetically coupled Ising spins (tau(0) = 3.7 x 10(-)(10) s and Delta(1)/k(B) = 31 K). As expected, at lower temperatures below 1.4 K, the relaxation process is dominated by the finite-size chain effects (tau'(0) = 3 x 10(-)(8) s and Delta(2)/k(B) = 25 K). The detailed analysis of this single-chain magnet behavior and its two regimes is consistent with magnetic parameters independently estimated (J'and D(T)) and allows the determination of the average chain length of 60 nm (or 44 trimer units). This work illustrates nicely a new strategy to design single-chain magnets by coupling ferromagnetically single-molecule magnets in one dimension.

This paper offers the first series of state-of-the-art quantum chemical calculations (CASSCF, CASPT2, MS-CASPT2) and analytical models for the well-known problem of quasi-general ferromagnetic coupling in copper-gadolinium complexes. A system chosen from the chemical report of Costes et al. was taken as prototype. At the CASSCF level, calculated results for the experimental structure reproduced the magnetic coupling constant well (J(calcd)( )()= +7.67 cm(-)(1) vs J(exp)( )()= +7.0 cm(-)(1)). For more insight, the study molecule was further idealized by geometry optimization to C(2)(v)() symmetry. Systematic ab initio computation experiments were designed and performed. Owing to specific problems related to the non-aufbau ground configuration of the [CuL-Gd] complexes, the calculations were conducted in a nonstandard manner. We found that the qualitative mechanism of Kahn, assigned to the electron jump from 3d of Cu(II) to 5d shell of Gd(III), can be presented effectively as the cause of the phenomenon, if CASPT2 MOs are taken as magnetic orbitals. We showed that the ferromagnetic coupling is also matched and magnified by spin polarization effects over the ligand, in line with the early assumption of Gatteschi. To be distinguished from the initial hypothesis of Gatteschi, which assumed the role of 6s AO of Gd(III), we found that one 5d-type AO is actually involved in the polarization scheme. In fact, the Gatteschi and Kahn mechanisms are not mutually contradictory, but are even interconvertible with appropriate changes of the magnetic orbitals. Within C(2)(v)() symmetry of complexes, the ferromagnetic coupling can be qualitatively regarded as the preponderant influence of interaction channels exhibiting orbital orthogonality (four 3d-4f contacts) over the nonorthogonal ones (two 3d-4f contacts). The effective preponderance from ferromagnetic pathways is supported by CASPT2 results. One may explain the generality of Cu(II)-Gd(III) ferromagnetic coupling as being correlated with the large occurrence of approximate pseudo-C(2)(v)() geometry of complexes. The observed orbital regularity is lost in lower symmetries. Thus, the antiferromagnetic exceptions occur when the molecular asymmetry is advanced (e.g., owing to strong chemical nonequivalence of the donor atoms).

This short critical review outlines the main synthetic strategies used in the designed synthesis of lanthanide-based metal organic frameworks (Ln-MOFs). It explains the impact of the choice of organic linker on the final network topology, and it highlights the applications of Ln-MOFs in the catalysis of organic reactions.

The binuclear [FeIII(bpca)(mu-bpca)Dy(NO3)4], having Single Molecule Magnet (SMM) properties, belonging to a series of isostructural FeIIILnIII complexes (Ln = Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho) and closely related FeIILnIII chain structures, was characterized in concise experimental and theoretical respects. The low temperature magnetization data showed hysteresis and tunneling. The anomalous temperature dependence of Mössbauer spectra is related to the onset of magnetic order, consistent with the magnetization relaxation time scale resulting from AC susceptibility measurements. The advanced ab initio calculations (CASSCF and spin-orbit) revealed the interplay of ligand field, spin-orbit, and exchange effects and probed the effective Ising nature of the lowest states, involved in the SMM and tunneling effects.

The six-coordinated mononuclear manganese(III) complex [Mn(5-Br-sal-N-1,5,8,12)]ClO(4) has been synthesized and isolated in crystalline form. Magnetic measurements and variable-temperature single-crystal X-ray crystallography corroborated with theoretical analysis provided firm evidence for the spin-crossover effects of this system. The monomeric complex cations are made by a hexadentate mixed-donor Schiff base ligand imposing a distorted octahedral geometry and subtle structural effects determining the manifestation of the variable spin properties of the manganese(III) centers. The spin crossover in [Mn(5-Br-sal-N-1,5,8,12)]ClO(4) has resulted in an unprecedented crystallographic observation of the coexistence of high-spin (HS; S = 2) and low-spin (LS; S = 1) manganese(III) complex cations in equal proportions around 100 K. At room temperature, the two crystallographically distinct manganese centers are both HS. Only one of the two slightly different units undergoes spin crossover in the temperature range ∼250-50 K, whereas the other remains in the HS state down to 50 K. The density functional theory calculations, performed as relevant numerical experiments designed to identify the role of orbital and interelectron effects, revealed unedited aspects of the manganese(III) spin-conversion mechanisms, developed in the conceptual frame of ligand-field models.

Ligand field density functional theory (LFDFT) is a methodology consisting of non-standard handling of DFT calculations and post-computation analysis, emulating the ligand field parameters in a non-empirical way. Recently, the procedure was extended for two-open-shell systems, with relevance for inter-shell transitions in lanthanides, of utmost importance in understanding the optical and magnetic properties of rare-earth materials. Here, we expand the model to the calculation of intensities of f → d transitions, enabling the simulation of spectral profiles. We focus on Eu(2+)-based systems: this lanthanide ion undergoes many dipole-allowed transitions from the initial 4f(7)((8)S7/2) state to the final 4f(6)5d(1) ones, considering the free ion and doped materials. The relativistic calculations showed a good agreement with experimental data for a gaseous Eu(2+) ion, producing reliable Slater-Condon and spin-orbit coupling parameters. The Eu(2+) ion-doped fluorite-type lattices, CaF2:Eu(2+) and SrCl2:Eu(2+), in sites with octahedral symmetry, are studied in detail. The related Slater-Condon and spin-orbit coupling parameters from the doped materials are compared to those for the free ion, revealing small changes for the 4f shell side and relatively important shifts for those associated with the 5d shell. The ligand field scheme, in Wybourne parameterization, shows a good agreement with the phenomenological interpretation of the experiment. The non-empirical computed parameters are used to calculate the energy and intensity of the 4f(7)-4f(6)5d(1) transitions, rendering a realistic convoluted spectrum.

Coumarin-based dyes have been successfully used in dye-sensitized solar cells, leading to photovoltaic conversion efficiencies of up to about 8%. Given the need to better understand the behavior of the dye adsorbed on the TiO2 nanoparticle, we report results of density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT (TD-DFT) studies of several coumarin-based dyes, as well as complex systems consisting of the dye bound to a TiO2 cluster. We provide the electronic structure and simulated UV-Vis spectra of the dyes alone and adsorbed to the cluster and discuss the matching with the solar spectrum. We display the energy level diagrams and the electron density of the key molecular orbitals and analyze the electron transfer from the dye to the oxide. Finally, we compare our theoretical results with the experimental data available and discuss the key issues that influence the device performance.

The reaction of the acetylene RC triple bond CH (R = Ph, CH(2)SiMe(3)) with an excess of AlH(3).NMe(3) in boiling toluene leads to the carbaalane [(AlH)(6)(AlNMe(3))(2)(CCH(2)R)(6)] (R = Ph 1, CH(2)SiMe(3) 2) in good yield. Treatment of 2 with BCl(3) under varying conditions gives the chlorinated products [(AlCl)(6)(AlNMe(3))(2)(CCH(2)CH(2)SiMe(3))(6)] 3 and [(AlCl)(6)(AlNMe(3))(2)(CCH(2)CH(2)SiMe(2)Cl)(6)] 4, respectively. The latter clearly demonstrates that the cluster can be stepwise functionalized within the inner and outer sphere. The X-ray single-crystal structures of 1, 2, and 4 have been determined. All compounds have in common that the central core consists of a cluster having eight aluminum and six carbon atoms. The bonding properties in this cluster are described as a new manifestation of three-dimensional surface aromaticity. Each Al(4)C fragment of the cube is formed by four bonds with three electron pairs, thus leading to a strong delocalization of the electrons. A phenomenological modeling using a three-dimensional Hückel scheme with fitted parameters to reproduce the energies from ab initio calculations revealed that the orbital scheme localized at one Al(4)C fragment possesses an orbital sextet with a large HOMO-LUMO gap. This is in line with the criteria of aromaticity. The idea of aromaticity was sustained also by qualitative valence bond reasons enumerating the different resonance structures by means of graph theoretical methods.