Two chiral luminescent derivatives of pyridine bis(oxazoline) (Pybox), (SS/RR)-iPr-Pybox (2,6-bis[4-isopropyl-2-oxazolin-2-yl]pyridine) and (SRSR/RSRS)-Ind-Pybox (2,6-bis[8H-indeno[1,2-d]oxazolin-2-yl]pyridine), have been combined with lanthanide ions (Gd(3+), Nd(3+)) and octacyanotungstate(V) metalloligand to afford a remarkable series of eight bimetallic CN(-)-bridged coordination chains: {[Ln(III)(SS/RR-iPr-Pybox)(dmf)4]3[W(V)(CN)8]3}n ⋅dmf⋅4 H2O (Ln = Gd, 1-SS and 1-RR; Ln = Nd, 2-SS and 2-RR) and {[Ln(III)(SRSR/RSRS-Ind-Pybox)(dmf)4][W(V)(CN)8]}n⋅5 MeCN⋅4 MeOH (Ln = Gd, 3-SRSR and 3-RSRS; Ln = Nd, 4-SRSR and 4-RSRS). These materials display enantiopure structural helicity, which results in strong optical activity in the range 200-450 nm, as confirmed by natural circular dichroism (NCD) spectra and the corresponding UV/Vis absorption spectra. Under irradiation with UV light, the Gd(III)-W(V) chains show dominant ligand-based red phosphorescence, with λmax ≈660 nm for 1-(SS/RR) and 680 nm for 3-(SRSR/RSRS). The Nd(III)-W(V) chains, 2-(SS/RR) and 4-(SRSR/RSRS), exhibit near-infrared luminescence with sharp lines at 986, 1066, and 1340 nm derived from intra-f (4)F3/2 → (4)I9/2,11/2,13/2 transitions of the Nd(III) centers. This emission is realized through efficient ligand-to-metal energy transfer from the Pybox derivative to the lanthanide ion. Due to the presence of paramagnetic lanthanide(III) and [W(V)(CN)8](3-) moieties connected by cyanide bridges, 1-(SS/RR) and 3-(SRSR/RSRS) are ferrimagnetic spin chains originating from antiferromagnetic coupling between Gd(III) (SGd = 7/2) and W(V) (SW = 1/2) centers with J1-(SS) = -0.96(1) cm(-1), J1-(RR) =-0.95(1) cm(-1), J3-(SRSR) = -0.91(1) cm(-1), and J3-(RSRS) =-0.94(1) cm(-1). 2-(SS/RR) and 4-(SRSR/RSRS) display ferromagnetic coupling within their Nd(III)-NC-W(V) linkages.

Magnetic photoswitching is a highly important but relatively rare phenomenon for enabling optical writing/reading of the magnetic state of a molecule. In this work, an unprecedented site-selective double photoswitching is reported from the assembly of two different "photomagnetic chromophores" into a single hexanuclear molecule: namely, a spin-crossover Fe(II) center exhibiting light-induced excited spin state trapping (LIESST) and a photochemically active octacyanometalate(IV) unit. Four different magnetization levels are accessible through the appropriate combination of violet/red light and temperature, results that highlight the potential of photomagnetic molecules as future molecular memory cells.

Complexes of lanthanides(III) (Ce-Yb) with 2,2'-bis(2-oxazoline) (Box) combined with octacyanidomolybdate(V) gave a series of magneto-luminescent coordination polymers, {[Ln(III)(Box)n(DMF)m][Mo(V)(CN)8]}·x(solvent) (1-12). They are built of cyanido-bridged layers of a mixed 4- and 8-metal rings topology and show unique sliding of layers dependent on a 4f metal ion. For light lanthanides, dominant phase A, {[Ln(III)(Box)2(DMF)2][Mo(V)(CN)8]}·1.5MeCN (Ln = Ce, 1; Pr, 2; Nd, 3), consists of ideally aligned, not shifted layers, giving large channels (13.7 × 14.0 Å). Intermediate lanthanides reveal phase B, {[Ln(III)(Box)2(DMF)2] [Mo(V)(CN)8]}·H2O (Ln = Sm, 4; Eu, 5; Gd, 6; Tb, 7; Dy, 8), of smaller pores (8.4 × 10.6 Å) due to layer-H2O hydrogen bonding, which induces sliding of CN(-)-bridged layers. Heavy lanthanides show phase C, {[Ln(III)(Box)(DMF)3][Mo(V)(CN)8]}·MeCN (Ln = Ho, 9; Er, 10; Tm, 11; Yb, 12), with large channels (13.7 × 13.7 Å) of a similar size to light lanthanides. This effect comes from the changes in Ln(III) coordination sphere affecting solvent-layer interactions. Compounds 1-12 reveal diverse emission depending on the interaction between Ln(III) and Box luminophors. For 2-5, 9, and 12, the ligand-to-metal energy-transfer-induced visible f-centered emission ranging from green for Ho(III)-based 9, orange from Sm(III)-based 4, to red for Pr(III)- and Eu(III)-containing 2 and 5, respectively. Near-infrared emission was found for 2-4, 9, and 12. Red phosphorescence of Box was detected for Gd(III)-based 6, whereas the selective excitation of ligand or Ln(III) excited states resulting in the switchable red to green emission was found for Tb(III)-based 7. The materials revealed Ln(III)-Mo(V) magnetic coupling leading to ferromagnetism below 2.0 and 2.2 K for 4 and 7, respectively. The onset of magnetic ordering at low temperatures was found for 6 and 8. Compounds 1-12 form a unique family of cyanido-bridged materials of a bifunctional magneto-luminescence character combined with dynamic structural features.

A homoleptic gadolinium(III) complex with the smallest helicene-type ligand, 1,10-phenanthroline- N , N ′-dioxide (phendo) [Gd(phendo) 4 ](NO 3 ) 3 · x MeOH (phendo = 1,10-phenanthroline- N , N ′-dioxide, MeOH = methanol), shows slow relaxation of the magnetization characteristic for Single Ion Magnets (SIM), despite negligible magnetic anisotropy, confirmed by ab initio calculations. Solid state dilution magnetic and EPR studies reveal that the magnetization dynamics of the [Gd(phendo) 4 ] 3+ cation is controlled mainly by a Raman process. Pulsed EPR experiments demonstrate long phase memory times (up to 2.7 μs at 5 K), enabling the detection of Rabi oscillations at 20 K, which confirms coherent control of its spin state.

A building block approach has been used to prepare a new family of hexanuclear magnetic molecules MnNb, FeNb, and CoNb of general formula {[M(tmphen)][Nb(CN)]}·solv (M = Mn, Fe, Co; tmphen = 3,4,7,8-tetramethyl-1,10-phenanthroline; solv = MeOH and/or HO). MnNb exhibits a magnetocaloric effect at temperatures close to 1.8 K, and FeNb undergoes an incomplete gradual spin crossover and a photomagnetic response related to light-induced excited spin state trapping.