Family of Mn4IIILn2III (LnIII = SmIII, GdIII, DyIII) coordination clusters: Experimental and theoretical investigations

The present work introduces a family of Mn(4)(III)Ln(2)(III) (Ln(III) = Sm-III, Gd-III, Dy-III) coordination clusters having a multisite hydroxyl rich ligand, 3-[(2-hydroxy-3-methoxy-benzylidene)-amino]-propane-1,2-diol (H(3)Vapd), namely [(Mn4Sm2III)-Sm-III(VaPd)(4)(OAc)(6)]center dot 4H(2)O (1), [(Mn4Gd2III)-Gd-III(Vapd)(4)(OAc)(6)]center dot 4H(2)O (2) and [(Mn4DyIII)-Dy-III(VaPd)(4)-(OAc)(6)]center dot 4H(2)O (3). The Se' analog is the first example of a Mn(4)Ln(2) species reported to date. The similarities and differences in terms,of structure, topology and magnetic behaviors within the series are investigated extensively. DFT computations were carried out for (Mn4Gd2III)-Gd-III to address the experimentally challenging questions regarding the nature of the magnetic interactions in this cluster. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.