A nitrito-κN ligand in pentacyanidocobaltate(iii) linkers as a polarity inducer in heterometallic frameworks incorporating lanthanide(iii) molecular nanomagnets

Abstract

We report a symmetry-breaking effect in the family of coordination polymers, Ln^III–(4,4′-bipyridine-N,N′-dioxide)–[Co^III(CN)₅(NO₂)]³⁻ (Ln = La–Nd, Sm), induced by pentacyanidocobaltate linkers bearing nitrito-κN ligands. Resulting structural polarity leads to a strong and tunable non-linear optical response, while incorporated lanthanide ions exhibit slow relaxation of magnetization and near-infrared luminescence.