Making soluble Dy single-molecule magnets red emissive through their functionalization by ruthenium-cyanido luminophores.

We present an efficient strategy for obtaining red-emissive molecular nanomagnets by exploring a heterometallic approach. We report the {[Dy(4-pyridone)][Ru(CN)(phen)]}·(CFSO)·2MeOH (phen = 1,10-phenanthroline) compound composed of exchange-coupled {DyIII2} single-molecule magnets functionalized by Ru(II)-cyanido units. The latter makes the resulting {DyIII2RuII2} cations a unique example of a soluble lanthanide SMM exhibiting red charge-transfer photoluminescence in the solution and solid state, well enhanced when compared with the cyanido precursor.