Joana T. Coutinho

Single-ion magnet behaviour in [U(Tp(Me2))(2)I].

[U(Tp(Me2))(2)I] exhibits at low temperatures single molecule magnet (SMM) behaviour comparable to its bipyridine derivative and related single ion U(III) complexes recently reported as SMMs. The trend of variation of the energy barrier for the magnetic relaxation in these compounds is well reproduced by quantum chemistry calculations.

Effects of surfactants on the magnetic properties of iron oxide colloids.

Iron oxide nanoparticles are having been extensively investigated for several biomedical applications such as hyperthermia and magnetic resonance imaging. However, one of the biggest problems of these nanoparticles is their aggregation. Taking this into account, in this study the influence of three different surfactants (oleic acid, sodium citrate and Triton X-100) each one with various concentrations in the colloidal solutions stability was analyzed by using a rapid and facile method, the variation in the optical absorbance along time. The synthesized nanoparticles through chemical precipitation showed an average size of 9 nm and a narrow size distribution. X-ray diffraction pattern and Fourier Transform Infrared analysis confirmed the presence of pure magnetite. SQUID measurements showed superparamagnetic properties with a blocking temperature around 155 K. In addition it was observed that neither sodium citrate nor Triton X-100 influences the magnetic properties of the nanoparticles. On the other hand, oleic acid in a concentration of 64 mM decreases the saturation magnetization from 67 to 45 emu/g. Oleic acid exhibits a good performance as stabilizer of the iron oxide nanoparticles in an aqueous solution for 24h, for concentrations that lead to the formation of the double layer.

[Fe(nsal2trien)]SCN, a New Two-Step Iron(III) Spin Crossover Compound, with Symmetry Breaking Spin-State Transition and an Intermediate Ordered State

We report the synthesis of the iron(III) complex of the hexadentate Schiff base ligand nsal2trien obtained from the condensation of triethylenetetramine and 2 equiv. of 2-hydroxy-1-naphthaldehyde. The study of the salt [Fe(nsal2trien)]SCN (1) by magnetic susceptibility measurements and Mössbauer spectroscopy reveals a rather unique behavior that displays thermally induced spin crossover (SCO) with two well-separated steps at 250 (gradual transition) and 142 K (steep transition). Single crystal X-ray structures were obtained at 294, 150, and 50 K, for the high spin (HS), intermediate (Int), and low spin (LS) phases. The HS and LS phases are isostructural, and based on a single Fe(III) site (either HS or LS) an unusual symmetry break occurs in the transition to the Int ordered phase, where the unit cell includes two distinct Fe(III) sites and is based on a repetition of the [HS-LS] motif. The two-step SCO behavior of 1 must result from the existence of structural constraints preventing the full conversion HS ↔ LS in a single step.

Thermal and magnetic properties of chitosan-iron oxide nanoparticles

Chitosan is a biopolymer widely used for biomedical applications such as drug delivery systems, wound healing, and tissue engineering. Chitosan can be used as coating for other types of materials such as iron oxide nanoparticles, improving its biocompatibility while extending its range of applications. In this work iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe3O4 NPs) produced by chemical precipitation and thermal decomposition and coated with chitosan with different molecular weights were studied. Basic characterization on bare and chitosan-Fe3O4 NPs was performed demonstrating that chitosan does not affect the crystallinity, chemical composition, and superparamagnetic properties of the Fe3O4 NPs, and also the incorporation of Fe3O4 NPs into chitosan nanoparticles increases the later hydrodynamic diameter without compromising its physical and chemical properties. The nano-composite was tested for magnetic hyperthermia by applying an alternating current magnetic field to the samples demonstrating that the heating ability of the Fe3O4 NPs was not significantly affected by chitosan.

Magnetic Properties of the Layered Lanthanide Hydroxide Series YxDy8-x(OH)20Cl4·6H2O: From Single Ion Magnets to 2D and 3D Interaction Effects

The magnetic properties of layered dysprosium hydroxides, both diluted in the diamagnetic yttrium analogous matrix (LYH:0.04Dy), and intercalated with 2,6-naphthalene dicarboxylate anions (LDyH-2,6-NDC), were studied and compared with the recently reported undiluted compound (LDyH = Dy8(OH)20Cl4·6H2O). The Y diluted compound reveals a single-molecule magnet (SMM) behavior of single Dy ions, with two distinct slow relaxation processes of the magnetization at low temperatures associated with the two main types of Dy sites, 8- and 9-fold coordinated. Only one relaxation process is observed in both undiluted LDyH and intercalated compounds as a consequence of dominant ferromagnetic Dy-Dy interactions, both intra- and interlayer. Semiempirical calculations using a radial effect charge (REC) model for the crystal field splitting of the Dy levels are used to explain data in terms of contributions from the different Dy sites. The dominant ferromagnetic interactions are explained in terms of orientations of easy magnetization axes obtained by REC calculations together with the sign of the superexchange expected from the Dy-O-Dy angles.

Single-molecule-magnet behavior in mononuclear homoleptic tetrahedral uranium(III) complexes.

The magnetic properties of the two uranium coordination compounds, [K(18c6)][U(OSi(O(t)Bu)3)4] and [K(18c6)][U(N(SiMe3)2)4], both presenting the U(III) ion in similar pseudotetrahedral coordination environments but with different O- or N-donor ligands, have been measured. The static magnetic susceptibility measurements and density functional theory studies suggest the presence of different ligand fields in the two compounds. Alternating-current susceptibility studies conducted at frequencies ranging from 95 to 9995 Hz and at temperatures in the 1.7-10 K range revealed for both compounds slow magnetic relaxation already at zero static magnetic field with similar energy barriers U ∼24 K.

(α-DT-TTF)2[Au(mnt)2]: a weakly disordered molecular spin-ladder system.

The synthesis and characterization of (α-DT-TTF)2[Au(mnt)2] is reported. The magnetic properties of this new salt show that it is still a rare example of an organic spin-ladder. (α-DT-TTF)2[Au(mnt)2] shares the same ladder structure of the DT-TTF and ETT-TTF analogues, and its room temperature conductivity is ∼2 S/cm. Despite the observed donor orientation disorder associated with the thiophenic sulfur atoms, the intermolecular interactions between donor units, calculated using the extended Hückel approximation and a double-ξ basis set, show that the interaction values do not depend on the configuration of the sulfur atom on the thiophenic ring. The insensitivity of the spin-ladder magnetic properties to the donor molecular disorder in (α-DT-TTF)2[Au(mnt)2] is a direct consequence of the negligible contribution of the disordered thiophenic sulfur atom to the HOMO. In the related donor ETT-TTF, this contribution is significant and destroys the magnetic interactions, and no spin-ladder is observed. This compound not only enlarges the number of organic spin-ladder systems in this series of closely related compounds but also provides an interesting example of weakly disordered molecular spin-ladder system.

Slow magnetic relaxation and photoluminescent properties of a highly coordinated erbium(III) complex with dibenzoylmethane and 2,2′-bipyridine

A new Er(III) β-diketonate complex, tris(dibenzoylmethanate)mono(2,2′-bipyridine) erbium(III) or [Er(dbm)3(bipy)], has been synthesized and its structural, thermal, photophysical and low temperature magnetic properties have been characterized. In the new complex, Er(III) ions are coordinated by six O atoms and two N atoms in a distorted square antiprismatic geometry. The Er(III) complex exhibits out-of-phase (χM′′) ac susceptibility signals, when a static magnetic field is applied, signaling that at zero field a quantum tunneling regime occurs. The nearly semi-circular and symmetrical shape of the Cole–Cole plots sustains the existence of a single magnetic relaxation process. The solid state luminescent studies show an intense, sharp and narrow emission band in the near infrared region. The combined results demonstrate the ability of dbm and bipy to provide an environment that yields both interesting magnetic and optical properties.

A Mononuclear Uranium(IV) Single‐Molecule Magnet with an Azobenzene Radical Ligand

A tetravalent uranium compound with a radical azobenzene ligand, namely, [{(SiMe2 NPh)3 -tacn}U(IV) (η(2) -N2 Ph2 (.) )] (2), was obtained by one-electron reduction of azobenzene by the trivalent uranium compound [U(III) {(SiMe2 NPh)3 -tacn}] (1). Compound 2 was characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and (1) H NMR, IR, and UV/Vis/NIR spectroscopy. The magnetic properties of 2 and precursor 1 were studied by static magnetization and ac susceptibility measurements, which for the former revealed single-molecule magnet behaviour for the first time in a mononuclear U(IV) compound, whereas trivalent uranium compound 1 does not exhibit slow relaxation of the magnetization at low temperatures. A first approximation to the magnetic behaviour of these compounds was attempted by combining an effective electrostatic model with a phenomenological approach using the full single-ion Hamiltonian.

Structure, luminescence and magnetic properties of an erbium(III) β-diketonate homodinuclear complex

The photoluminescence properties and field-induced single-molecule-magnetic behavior of a novel erbium(III) β-diketonate homodinuclear complex, [Er2(nd)6(μ-bpm)] (nd = 2,4-nonanedione and bpm = 2,2′-bipyrimidine), are presented. On the basis of structural data, ab initio calculations using the SO-CASSCF method have been performed so as to gain insight into the spin-relaxation mechanism, giving evidence of the nature of the mJ ground state and the orientation of the related magnetic anisotropy axis. The overlap integrals between the natural spin orbitals (NSOs) of the mononuclear fragments, related to the magnitude of the antiferromagnetic exchange, show that the two fragments have no magnetic interaction.