Structures and magnetic properties of several phenoxo-O bridged dinuclear lanthanide complexes: Dy derivatives displaying substituent dependent magnetic relaxation behavior.

Nine dinuclear Ln(iii) complexes, [Ln(dbm)2(L)]2 (Ln = Eu (), Tb (), Dy (), Ho (), Er ()) and [Ln(dbm)2(L')]2 (Ln = Tb (), Dy (), Ho (), Er ()) (dbm = 1,3-diphenyl-1,3-propanedione, HL = 2-[[(4-methoxy-phenyl)imino]methyl]-8-hydroxy-quinoline and HL' = 2-[[(4-ethoxyphenyl)imino]methyl]-8-hydroxyquinoline) have been synthesized, and structurally and magnetically characterized. The nine complexes are all phenoxo-O bridged binuclear complexes, in which Ln1 and Ln1a are in an eight-coordinated environment bridged by two phenoxido oxygen atoms of two 8-hydroxyquinoline Schiff base ligands. Although complexes and have very similar structures, magnetic studies reveal that they exhibit different magnetic relaxation behaviors with the effective barriers (ΔE/kB) of 34.