Bimetallic and trimetallic chains of Fe-CN-Ln complexes: Synthesis, structural characterization, and magnetic properties

Abstract Two new one-dimensional cyanide-bridged complexes, [Gd (DMF)4(H2O)2{Fe(CN)6}]·H2O (1) and [{CuL}Gd(H2O)3{Fe(CN)6}]·3H2O (2) (H2L = N,N'-(2-Hydroxy-propane-1,3-diyl)bis(3-methoxysalicylaldiimine) were obtained in the attempt of constructing heterotrimetallic 3d-3d′-4f systems with these reaction precursors. Interestingly, the two complexes show rather comparable structures with a chain-like skeleton, although one features a typical bimetallic structure while the other behaves as a trimetallic system. To the best of our knowledge, the complexes are new in the Fe-CN-Ln family, which is especially suitable for magnetic study of the role of the third metal ions in the system. X-ray diffraction results clearly indicated the formation of the interesting chain structures of these complexes, which were further confirmed by magnetic investigation.