Planar tetranuclear lanthanide clusters with the Dy4 analogue displaying slow magnetic relaxation†
Abstract
Two isostructural tetranuclear lanthanide clusters of general formula [LnIII4(μ3-OH)2(o-van)4(O2CC(CH3)3)4(NO3)2]·CH2Cl2·1.5H2O (Ln = Gd (1) and Dy (2)) (o-van = 3-methoxysalicylaldehydato anion) are reported. The metallic cores of both complexes display a planar ‘butterfly’ arrangement. Magnetic studies show that both are weakly coupled, with 2 displaying probable SMM behaviour.