Magnetic clusters based on octacyanidometallates

Abstract

Octacyanidometallates make an important branch of cyanide-based molecular magnets that not only follow the trends in modern magnetochemistry and materials science but also have stimulated these fields from the very beginning and still blaze a trail by introducing new concepts such as heterotrimetallic systems, new functionalities and cross-effects like photo-switching of magneto-optical properties and setting new records in magnetic ordering temperatures or magnetic exchange interactions. The following paper focuses on a special class of molecular magnets which, to the best of our knowledge, have not been reviewed so far: octacyanide-based magnetic clusters. A complete list of all known molecules incorporating octacyanides with an extensive discussion of their structures, topologies and magnetic properties, with special attention paid to multifunctional systems, is provided. Several milestone-clusters are discussed thoroughly to emphasize their particular importance in the development of crystal engineering and molecular magnetism.