Structural Rearrangement Through Lanthanide Contraction in Dinuclear Complexes

A new series of lanthanide complexes was synthesized, and the geometry and preliminary magnetic measurements of the complexes were explored. The specific ligand used (N′-(2-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzylidene)benzhydrazide) (H2hmb) was synthesized using a Schiff-base approach and was employed due to the presence of a coordination pocket that is able to accommodate magnetically selective lanthanide ions. The series can be divided into two groups that are categorized by a drastic structural rearrangement. The first group, Type I, contains six analogous complexes with the formula [MIII2(Hhmb)3(NCS)3]·2MeOH·py (M = Y 1, Eu 2, Gd 3, Tb 4, Dy 5, Ho 6), while the second group, Type II, contains two dinuclear complexes with formula [MIII2(Hhmb)2(NCS)4(MeOH)2] (M = Er 7, and Yb 8). Single-crystal X-ray analysis revealed that all MIII ions in Type I exhibit monocapped distorted square antiprismatic geometries, while those of Type II exhibit distorted dodecahedron geometry. The direct current and alternating current magnet...