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Updated: Sep 29, 2026

Effect of Microwave Synthesis Conditions on the Structure of Nickel Hydroxide Nanosheets
Published on: August 18, 2023
Synthesis, structure, and magnetic properties of the single-molecule magnet [Ni(21)(cit)(12)(OH)(10)(H(2)O)(10)](16-)
Stefan T Ochsenbein1, Mark Murrie, Eduard Rusanov
1Departement für Chemie und Biochemie, Universität Bern, Freiestrasse 3, CH-3000 Bern 9, Switzerland.
Abstract:
The preparation of two new compounds containing the cluster [Ni(21)(cit)(12)(OH)(10)(H(2)O)(10)](16-) is presented, together with a detailed magnetic investigation of one of the compounds. We found that this cluster shows an unexpected stability and that it exists as different stereoisomers. Compound 1 contains the achiral cluster with a Delta-Lambda configuration, and compound 2 contains a pair of enantiomeric clusters with the configurations Delta-Delta and Lambda-Lambda, respectively. Magnetic measurements of 1 in the millikelvin range were necessary to determine the spin ground state of S = 3, and they also revealed a magnetic anisotropy within the ground state. A frequency-dependent out-of-phase signal was found in alternating current susceptibility measurements at very low temperatures, which indicates a slow relaxation of the magnetization. Thus, individual molecules are acting as single magnetic units, which is a rare phenomenon for nickel clusters. The energy barrier exhibited by compound 1 has been calculated to be 2.9 K.
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