Polynuclear coordination complexes - from dinuclear to nonanuclear and beyond

Polytopic ligands based on aromatic or open chain diazine and alkoxo-fragments form an ideal focus for the simultaneous coordination of metal centers in contiguous groupings, juxtaposed closely enough that magnetic spin-spin exchange occurs between adjacent pairs of metal ions. Examples of polynuclear complexes M-n (n = 2-9) will be discussed in terms of their structures, and principally their magnetic properties, with a focus on self-assembly reactions. Ligand design elements that lead to predictable cluster and grid structures will be emphasized. Magneto-structural studies and correlations will be highlighted with antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic examples, in addition to recent studies with high nuclearity grids and clusters. Ferromagnetic grids with high spin ground states present exciting possibilities for applications of these nano-scale molecular systems in, e.g. information storage technology. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.