The magnetic properties of MAl(OH)SO·3HO with M = Co, Ni, and Cu determined by a combined experimental and computational approach.

The magnetic properties of the nickelalumite-type layered double hydroxides (LDH), MAl(OH)(SO)·3HO (MAl-LDH) with M = Co ( = 3/2), Ni ( = 1), or Cu ( = 1/2) were determined by a combined experimental and computational approach. They represent three new inorganic, low-dimensional magnetic systems with a defect-free, structurally ordered magnetic lattice. They exhibit no sign of magnetic ordering down to 2 K in contrast to conventional hydrotalcite LDH. Detailed insight into the complex interplay between the choice of magnetic ion (M) and magnetic properties was obtained by a combination of magnetic susceptibility, heat capacity, neutron scattering, solid-state NMR spectroscopy, and first-principles calculations. The NiAl- and especially CoAl-LDH have pronounced zero-field splitting (ZFS, easy-axis and easy-plane, respectively) and weak ferromagnetic nearest-neighbour interactions. Thus, they are rare examples of predominantly zero-dimensional spin systems in dense, inorganic matrices. In contrast, CuAl-LDH ( = 1/2) consists of weakly ferromagnetic = 1/2 spin chains. For all three MAl-LDH, good agreement is found between the experimental magnetic parameters (, , ) and first-principles quantum chemical calculations, which also predict that the interchain couplings are extremely weak (< 0.1 cm). Thus, our approach will be valuable for evaluation and prediction of magnetic properties in other inorganic materials.