Giant hysteretic effect in layered organic-inorganic hybrid magnets incorporating hydroxide and cinnamate layers

Abstract Layered organic-inorganic hybrid magnets, Co(cin)0.8(OH)1.2 (cin = cinnamate) (1) and Cu(cin) (OH) (2), have been synthesized by using a low energy process that employs transition metal nitrates as inorganic precursors and a cin as an organic precursor. The X-ray diffraction patterns and TEM images for the reaction products suggest that they possess organic-inorganic layered structure, where a transition metal hydroxide inorganic monolayer alternates with double cinnamate organic layers along the stacking direction. The compound 1 exhibits a ferrimagnetic long-range ordering (TC = 47.5 K) and large hysteresis with the coercive field Hc = 38 kOe. In contrast, the compound 2 shows soft ferromagnetic properties at low temperatures and a ferromagnetic phase transition occurs at TC = 15 K.