Mapping the Magnetic Anisotropy inside a Ni4 Cubane Spin Cluster Using Polarized Neutron Diffraction

In this publication, we report on the study of the magnetic anisotropy of the cubane type tetranuclear cluster of Ni(II), [Ni4(L)4(MeOH)4] (H2L = salicylidene-2-ethanolamine; MeOH = methanol), by the means of angular-resolved magnetometry and polarized neutron diffraction (PND). We show that better than other usual characterization techniques—such as electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy (EPR) or SQUID magnetometry—only PND enables the full determination of the local magnetic susceptibility tensor of the tetranuclear cluster and those of the individual Ni(II) ions and the antiferromagnetic pairs they form. This allows highlighting that, among the two antiferromagnetic pairs in the cluster, one has a stronger easy-axis type anisotropy. This distinctive feature can only be revealed by PND measurements, stressing the remarkable insights that they can bring to the understanding of the magnetic properties of transition metals clusters.