Heterometallic 3d-4f Single-Molecule Magnets Based on Polyoxometalates

• Applicant: Dr. Masooma Ibrahim
• Subject Area: Inorganic Molecular Chemistry - Synthesis and Characterisation
• Term: from 2013 to 2015
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 235654753

Currently, design and synthesis of new single-molecule magnets (SMMs) has achieved great interest due to their potential applications in high-density information storage and quantum computation. The development of a method allowing the rational synthesis of SMM is still a formidable challenge. In this field, an efficient route is the combination of 3d and 4f metal ion within one coordination complexes using organic compartmentalized ligand such as Schiff-base ligands. Knowing the fact that the magnetic properties of polynuclear metal complexes can be greatly changed by even small changes in structure or symmetry through ligand substitution. Therefore, another promising strategy to obtain new SMMs would be the incorporation of heterometallic 3d-4f spin centers in polyoxometalate (POM) frameworks. In addition replacing organic ligands of high-spin SMMs with POMs provide new understanding into the control of the spin states, magnetization dynamics, and related quantum phenomena of SMMs. However the combine chemistry of 3d-4f with inorganic lacunary POM ligands is still in its infancy. Ideally, POMs as inorganic polydentate O-donor ligands also have ability to stabilize well isolated polynuclear metal aggregates with interesting magnetic behaviors. Thus this document proposes the design, synthesis, characterization and property-evaluation of new magnetic materials based on heterometallic 3d-4f-POMs. The main objective of the proposal is to find a facile one pot synthetic strategy for the assembly of new materials, which are expected to have slow relaxation of the magnetization and function as single-molecule magnets. In addition the resultant compounds may also find many interesting applications in the field of catalysts and photoluminescence.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants