Samia Benmansour

A Family of Layered Chiral Porous Magnets Exhibiting Tunable Ordering Temperatures

A simple change of the substituents in the bridging ligand allows tuning of the ordering temperatures, Tc, in the new family of layered chiral magnets A[M(II)M(III)(X2An)3]·G (A = [(H3O)(phz)3](+) (phz = phenazine) or NBu4(+); X2An(2-) = C6O4X2(2-) = 2,5-dihydroxy-1,4-benzoquinone derivative dianion, with M(III) = Cr, Fe; M(II) = Mn, Fe, Co, etc.; X = Cl, Br, I, H; G = water or acetone). Depending on the nature of X, an increase in Tc from ca. 5.5 to 6.3, 8.2, and 11.0 K (for X = Cl, Br, I, and H, respectively) is observed in the MnCr derivative. Furthermore, the presence of the chiral cation [(H3O)(phz)3](+), formed by the association of a hydronium ion with three phenazine molecules, leads to a chiral structure where the Δ-[(H3O)(phz)3](+) cations are always located below the Δ-[Cr(Cl2An)3](3-) centers, leading to a very unusual localization of both kinds of metals (Cr and Mn) and to an eclipsed disposition of the layers. This eclipsed disposition generates hexagonal channels with a void volume of ca. 20% where guest molecules (acetone and water) can be reversibly absorbed. Here we present the structural and magnetic characterization of this new family of anilato-based molecular magnets.

Magnetic bistability and thermochromism in a molecular Cu(II) chain.

An original magnetic bistability and a thermochromic transition are observed in a new Cu(II) molecular chain. Thermal structural studies reveal changes in the Cu(II) coordination sphere, driven by a more pronounced Jahn-Teller effect at low temperature. These distortions provoke a gradual color change. The structural study at 10 K shows a dimerization of the molecular chain, in agreement with the abrupt magnetic transition observed at 30 K.

Nanosheets of Two-Dimensional Magnetic and Conducting Fe(II)/Fe(III) Mixed-Valence Metal–Organic Frameworks

We report the synthesis, magnetic properties, electrical conductivity, and delamination into thin nanosheets of two anilato-based Fe(II)/Fe(III) mixed-valence two-dimensional metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). Compounds [(H3O)(H2O)(phenazine)3][FeIIFeIII(C6O4X2)3]·12H2O [X = Cl (1) and Br (2)] present a honeycomb layered structure with an eclipsed packing that generates hexagonal channels containing the water molecules. Both compounds show ferrimagnetic ordering at ca. 2 K coexisting with electrical conductivity (with room temperature conductivities of 0.03 and 0.003 S/cm). Changing the X group from Cl to Br leads to a decrease in the ordering temperature and room temperature conductivity that is correlated with the decrease of the electronegativity of X. Despite the ionic charge of the anilato-based layers, these MOFs can be easily delaminated in thin nanosheets with the thickness of a few monolayers.

Electrical Conductivity and Strong Luminescence in Copper Iodide Double Chains with Isonicotinato Derivatives.

Direct reactions between CuI and isonicotinic acid (HIN) or the corresponding esters, ethyl isonicotinate (EtIN) or methyl isonicotinate (MeIN), give rise to the formation of the coordination polymers [CuI(L)]n with L=EtIN (1), MeIN (2) and HIN (3). Polymers 1-3 show similar structures based on a CuI double chain in which ethyl-, methyl isonicotinate or isonicotinic acid are coordinated as terminal ligands. Albeit, their supramolecular architecture differs considerably, affecting the distances and angles of the central CuI double chains and thereby their physical properties. Hence, the photoluminescence shows remarkable differences; 1 and 2 show a strong yellow emission, whereas 3 displays a weak emission; and 1 and 2 are semiconductors with moderate room temperature conductivities, whereas 3 has increased electrical conductivity up to 3×10(-3)  S cm(-1) . Additionally, 1 and 2 present an irreversible transition to a highly conducting phase with a conductivity almost 4 orders of magnitude higher and a quasi-metallic behaviour. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) coupled to a mass spectrometer and magnetic measurements point to a partial thermally induced oxidation of the carboxylate groups of the ligands with Cu(I) to Cu(0) reduction. DFT calculations have been carried out to rationalise these observations.

Reversible stimulus-responsive Cu(I) iodide pyridine coordination polymer

We present a structurally flexible copper-iodide-pyridine-based coordination polymer showing drastic variations in its electrical conductivity driven by temperature and sorption of acetic acid molecules. The dramatic effect on the electrical conductivity enables the fabrication of a simple and robust device for gas detection. X-ray diffraction studies and DFT calculations allow the rationalisation of these observations.

A Heterobimetallic Anionic 3,6-Connected 2D Coordination Polymer Based on Nitranilate as Ligand

In order to synthesize new coordination polymers with original architectures and interesting magnetic properties, we used the nitranilate ligand (C6O4(NO2)22− = C6N2O82−), derived from the dianionic ligand dhbq2− (2,5-dihydroxy-1,4-benzoquinone = H2C6O42−). The use of this bis-bidentate bridging ligand led to [(DAMS)2{FeNa(C6N2O8)3}·CH3CN]n (1) (DAMS+ = C16H17N2+ = 4-[4-(dimethylamino)-α-styryl]-1-methylpyridinium), a 2D heterometallic coordination polymer presenting an unprecedented structure for any anilato-based compound. This structural type is a 3,6-connected 2D coordination polymer derived from the well-known honeycomb hexagonal structure, where Fe(III) ions alternate with Na+ dimers (as Na2O12 units) in the vertices of the hexagons and with an additional [Fe(C6N2O8)3]3− anion located in the center of the hexagons connecting the three Na+ dimers. The magnetic properties of compound 1 show the presence of paramagnetic isolated high spin Fe(III) complexes with a zero field splitting, |D| = 8.5 cm−1.

Effect of the lanthanoid-size on the structure of a series of lanthanoid-anilato 2-D lattices*

Abstract We report the synthesis and characterization of a series of Ln-based bromoanilato 2-D lattices with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO): [Ln2(C6O4Br2)3(DMSO)n]·2DMSO·mH2O with n = 6 and m = 0 for Ln = La (1), Ce (2), Pr (3), Nd (4), Sm (5), Eu (6) and Gd (7); n = 4 and m = 2 for Ln = Tb (8), Dy (9), Ho (10), Er (11), Tm (12) and Yb (13) (C6O4Br22− = 3,6-dibromo-2,5-dihydroxy-1,4-benzoquinone = bromoanilato). The X-ray analysis shows that the largest Ln(III) ions (La-Gd, 1-7) crystallize in the monoclinic P21/n space group (phase I), whereas the smaller Ln(III) ions (Tb–Yb, 8–13) crystallize in the triclinic P-1 space group (phase II). Both phases present a (6,3)-2-D topology but show important differences derived from the different coordination number of the Ln(III) in both phases. In phase I, the Ln(III) ions are nine-coordinate with a tri-capped trigonal prism geometry and rectangular cavities with no solvent molecules. In phase II, the Ln(III) ions are eight-coordinate with a triangular dodecahedral geometry and distorted hexagonal cavities having two water molecules. These differences are due to the lanthanoid contraction. The magnetic properties show that the Ln(III) ions are isolated and do not present any noticeable magnetic interactions as expected for bromoanilato bridges and Ln(III) ions.

A trigonal prismatic anionic iron(III) complex of a radical o-iminobenzosemiquinonate derivative: structural and spectral analyses

A new iron(III) complex, [Et3NH][FeIII(L2−˙)2] (1) with a substituted o-aminophenol based ligand is reported. Complex 1 is an anionic complex with a triethylammonium cation in the lattice. It contains two O,O,N-coordinated o-iminobenzosemiquinonate(2−) radical anions with an Fe(III) centre in a high-spin configuration. The crystal structure of 1 was determined by X-ray diffraction, which revealed a trigonal prismatic coordination environment whose electronic structure was established by various physical methods including EPR, Mossbauer spectroscopy and variable-temperature (2–300 K) magnetic susceptibility measurements. Electrochemical analysis indicated primarily ligand-centred redox processes. Complex 1 retained the high-spin character of Fe(III) throughout the temperature range studied (2–300 K) and exhibited, as expected, strong antiferromagnetic coupling operating between two radicals (SR = 1/2) and the high-spin Fe(III) centre (SFe = 5/2), yielding a St = 3/2 as the ground state. This was confirmed by means of DFT calculations (M06-2X/6-31+G*) and a spin density analysis of the high spin and low spin configurations.

Iron(II) and cobalt(II) complexes based on anionic phenanthroline-imidazolate ligands: reversible single-crystal-to-single-crystal transformations

A series of low-spin FeII and CoII complexes based on phenanthroline-imidazolate (PIMP) ligands are reported. The FeII complex (H9O4)[Fe(PIMP)3]·(C4H10O)2(H2O) (1a) shows reversible crystalline phase transformations to afford two new phases (H9O4)[Fe(PIMP)3]·(H2O) (1b) and (H9O4)[Fe(PIMP)3]·(C8H18O)(C4H10O)(H2O) (1c) by release of diethyl ether and absorption of diethyl/dibutyl ether, respectively. This reversible uptake/release of solvent molecules is a clear example of single-crystal-to-single-crystal transformation involving a discrete metal complex. On the other hand, the corresponding CoII complex (H9O4)[Co(PIMP)3]·(C4H10O)2(H2O)2 (2) does not exhibit similar phase transformations. In the neutral complexes [Fe(H-TfPIMP)(TfPIMP)2]·(EtOH)4(H2O)7 (3) and [Co(H-TfPIMP)(TfPIMP)2]·(EtOH)2(H2O)2 (4), which crystallized in the polar space group Pna21 and in the centrosymmetric space group P21/n, respectively, one of the imidazole ligands was not deprotonated.