Enlarging the ring by incorporating a phosphonate coligand: from the cyclic hexanuclear to octanuclear dysprosium clusters.

Solvothermal reaction of a double pyrazinyl hydrazone ligand EDDC(2-) with Dy(OAc)3 results in a cyclic hexanuclear cluster [Dy6(EDDC)2(OAc)14(H2O)2]·MeOH·2H2O (). The addition of 1-naphthylphosphonate to the reaction mixture expands the ring size with the formation of a cyclic octanuclear cluster [Dy8(EDDC)4(O3PC10H7)4(OAc)8(H2O)4]·12H2O (). The latter shows slow magnetization relaxation below 12 K, characteristic of single molecule magnet behavior.