New type of single chain magnet based on spin canting in an antiferromagnetically coupled Co(II) chain

The new cobalt diphosphonate compound with a 1D zig-zag chain structure is the first example of its kind that has been recognized to exhibit single-molecule magnets behavior. The slow paramagnetic relaxation of the magnetization is explained on the basis of Ising anisotropy resulting from spin canting of antiferromagnetically coupled Co ions. The energy gap is in accord with the predictions of Glauber's theory for a one-dimensional Ising system. (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics.