Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 11, 2025
Author Spotlight: Magnetometric Characterization of Intermediates in the Solid-State Electrochemistry of Redox-Active Metal-Organic Frameworks
Published on: June 9, 2023
Structural Complexity and Magnetic Orderings in a Large Family of 3d-4f Heterobimetallic Sulfates
Huangjie Lu1,2, Kariem Diefenbach3, Zi-Jian Li1,2
1Key Laboratory of Interfacial Physics and Technology, Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 2019 Jia Luo Road, Shanghai 201800, People's Republic of China.
Abstract:
The synthesis of a large family of heterobimetallic lanthanide copper sulfates was realized via stoichiometric hydrothermal reactions among Ln2O3, CuO, and H2SO4, giving rise to four distinct phases, namely Ln2Cu(SO4)2(OH)4 (Ln = Sm-Ho) (LnCuSO-1), Ln4Cu(SO4)2(OH)10 (Ln = Tm-Lu) (LnCuSO-2), LnCu(SO4)(OH)3 (Ln = Nd-Gd, except Pm) (LnCuSO-3), and LnCu(SO4)(OH)3 (Ln = Dy-Lu) (LnCuSO-4), with completely different topologies. The passage from LnCuSO-1 and LnCuSO-3 to LnCuSO-2 and LnCuSO-4 across the 4f series, respectively, can be ascribed to the effect of lanthanide contraction, which progressively induces shrinking of the Ln-O distance, reduction in the Ln coordination number, and eventually structural transitions. The incorporation of identical 3d-4f metal ions into different spin-lattices, in conjunction with substitution of diverse Ln3+ cations within the same spin-lattice, gives rise to tunable magnetic properties varying from ferromagnetic ordering in GdCuSO-3 and HoCuSO-4 to antiferromagnetic ordering in YbCuSO-4, and to paramagnetic correlations found in GdCuSO-1 and YbCuSO-2.
Related Concept Videos
02:42Valence Bond Theory
03:02Colors and Magnetism
When atoms or molecules absorb light at the proper frequency, their electrons are excited to higher-energy orbitals. For many main group atoms and molecules, the absorbed photons are in the ultraviolet range of the electromagnetic spectrum, which cannot be detected by the human eye. For coordination compounds, the energy difference between the d orbitals often allows photons in the visible range to be absorbed and emitted, which is seen as colors by the human...
02:42Ionic Crystal Structures
Most monatomic ions behave as charged spheres, and their attraction for ions of opposite charge is the same in every direction. Consequently, stable structures for ionic compounds result (1) when ions of one charge are surrounded by as many ions as possible of the opposite...
02:57Coordination Number and Geometry
02:37Metallic Solids
All metallic solids exhibit high thermal and electrical conductivity, metallic luster, and malleability....
02:58Crystal Field Theory - Octahedral Complexes
To explain the observed behavior of transition metal complexes (such as colors), a model involving electrostatic interactions between the electrons from the ligands and the electrons in the unhybridized d orbitals of the central metal atom has been developed. This electrostatic model is crystal field theory (CFT). It helps to understand, interpret, and predict the colors, magnetic behavior, and some structures of coordination compounds of transition metals.
CFT focuses on...