Coordination-perturbed single-molecule magnet behaviour of mononuclear dysprosium complexes

By changing the ratio of reactants, two mononuclear Dy complexes, [Dy(phen)(acac)(3)] (1) and [Dy(phen)(2)(NO3)(2)(acac)] center dot H2O (2) have been synthesized and structurally characterized. In 1, a Dy atom bearing square-antiprism coordination geometry exhibits SMM behaviour, while compound 2 with a bicapped-square-antiprism geometry does not show such SMM properties. The different magnetic behaviours seen in 1 and 2 are probably due to a different coordination environment and ligand field around the Dy(III) ions. The results proved the important influence of the structural environment of a SMM on its magnetic behaviour.