Introduction of ester and amido functions in tetrairon(III) single-molecule magnets: synthesis and physical characterization

Tetrairon(III) complexes with a propeller-like structure derived from [Fe(4)(OMe)(6)(dpm)(6)] (1) (Hdpm = 2,2,6,6-tetramethylheptane-3,5-dione) are providing a growing class of Single Molecule Magnets (SMMs) displaying unprecedented synthetic. exibility and ease of functionalization. Herein we report the synthesis, crystal structures and magnetic properties of two novel tetrairon(III) SMMs, [Fe(4)(esterC5)(2)(dpm)(6)] (2) and [Fe(4)(amideC5)(2)(dpm)(6)]center dot Et(2)O center dot 4MeOH (3 center dot Et(2)O center dot 4MeOH), in which functionalization of the cluster core is achieved using ester and amido linkages, respectively. To this aim, two new tripodal ligands were prepared by acylation of pentaerythritol (2,2-bis(hydroxymethyl)propane-1,3-diol) and TRIS (2-amino-2-(hydroxymethyl)propane-1,3-diol), namely H(3)esterC5 = RC(O)OCH(2)C(CH(2)OH)(3) and H(3)amideC5 = RC(O)NHC(CH(2)OH)(3) with R = n-butyl. The compounds were structurally investigated by single-crystal XRD, which demonstrated coordination of the tripodal ligands to the cluster core. The products display SMM behavior with anisotropy barriers U(eff)/k(B) congruent to 11 K due to a high-spin (S = 5) ground state and an easy axis anisotropy, described by D = -0.421 cm(-1) in 2 and -0.414 cm(-1) in 3 center dot Et(2)O center dot 4MeOH. The departure of U(eff) from the total splitting of the S = 5 ground multiplet, U/k(B) congruent to 15 K, has to be ascribed to the sizeable rhombic anisotropy that characterizes the two compounds (E = 0.021 cm(-1) in 2 and 0.019 cm(-1) in 3 center dot Et(2)O center dot 4MeOH), as confirmed by master matrix calculations of the temperature-dependent relaxation time.