Enhancement of magnetic anisotropy in a Mn-Bi heterobimetallic complex

A novel Mn2+center dot center dot center dot Bi3+ heterobimetallic complex, featuring the closest Mn center dot center dot center dot Bi interaction for a paramagnetic molecular species, exhibits unusually large axial zero-field splitting. We attribute this enhancement to the proximity of Mn2+ to a heavy main group element, namely, bismuth.