A structurally perfect S=1/2 metal-organic hybrid kagome antiferromagnet

We report the synthesis and magnetic characterization of Cu(1,3-bdc) (1,3-bdc = 1,3-benzenedicarboxylate), a novel structurally perfect S = 1/2 metal-organic hybrid kagome antiferromagnet exhibiting properties consonant with spin frustration. In the kagome structure, each monodentate carboxylate ligand bridges two copper ions in the kagome plane, and the three-atom bridge allows for the shortest known metal-metal distance in any metal-organic hybrid kagome reported to date. The compound shows antiferromagnetic mean nearest-neighbor superexchange, as evidenced by theta CW = -33 K. The compound orders ferromagnetically at 2 K and has a frustration parameter, f = 16.5, indicative of a spin-frustrated compound.