Complexes of Dy, Er, and Yb with Tris(2-pyridylmethyl)amine: Synthesis and Field-Induced Slow Magnetic Relaxation

Abstract Using lanthanide aquachlorides LnCl 3 ·6H 2 O (Ln = Dy, Er, Yb) and the tetradentate tpa (tpa = tris(2-pyridylmethyl)amine), new compounds were synthesized and structurally characterized: mononuclear [Ln(H 2 O) 2 tpaCl 2 ]Cl·H 2 O ( 1Ln ) (Ln = Dy, Er, Yb), binuclear [Ln 2 tpa 2 (H 2 O) 4 (OH) 2 ]·Cl 4 ·6H 2 O ( 2Ln ) (Ln = Dy, Er, Yb), and mononuclear [Yb(H 2 O) 4 tpa]·Cl 3 ·2H 2 O ( 3Yb ). In the obtained compounds, the coordination environment transforms from LnN 4 O 2 Cl 2 in 1Ln to LnN 4 O 4 in 2Ln and 3Yb . Compounds 1Dy , 1Yb , and 2Yb exhibit single-molecule magnet behavior under an external field. The values of the magnetization reversal barriers were analyzed depending on the coordination environment of the lanthanide ion and the charge of the complexes. Crystallographic data for 2Er , 2Dy , and 3Yb has been deposited at the Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre (CCDC) under No. 2543498-2543500.