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Updated: Nov 14, 2025

Author Spotlight: A Rapid, Microwave-Assisted Hydrothermal Synthesis Of Nickel Hydroxide Nanosheets
Published on: August 18, 2023
Carboxylic acid-tuned nickel(ii) clusters: syntheses, structures, solution behaviours and magnetic properties
Yan-Min Su1, Bao-Qian Ji, Feng Shao
1Key Laboratory of Colloid and Interface Chemistry, Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Crystal Materials, Shandong University, Ji'nan 250100, China. dsun@sdu.edu.cn.
Abstract:
Three novel cicada-like nickel(ii) clusters, formulated as [Ni6(bdped)2(mba)6(Hdmpz)2(NO3)2(H2O)2]·4MeCN (SD/Ni6b), [Ni5(bdped)2(tca)6(Hdmpz)(MeOH)2(H2O)]·MeOH (SD/Ni5a) and [Ni4(Hbdped)2(ba)4(Hdmpz)2]·2NO3·2MeCN (SD/Ni4a), were obtained by tuning the auxiliary carboxylic acids, where H2bdped = 1,2-bis-(3,5-dimethylpyrazol-1-yl)-ethane-1,2-diol; Hmba = 2-methylbenzoic acid; Hdmpz = 3,5-dimethyl-1H-pyrazole; Htca = 3-thiophenecarboxylic acid; and Hba = benzoic acid. The structures of SD/Ni6b, SD/Ni5a and SD/Ni4a are built from a central Ni4O4 opened cube, appending two to zero NiNO5 octahedra. The solution behaviours of SD/Ni6b, SD/Ni5a and SD/Ni4a were studied in detail via an ESI-MS technique and their solution stabilities were confirmed. Magnetic analysis indicated the presence of Ising-type anisotropy: D = -13, -10, and -11 cm-1 for SD/Ni6b, SD/Ni5a, and SD/Ni4a, respectively; moreover, dominantly ferromagnetic interactions were found between magnetic centers: J1 = 6.5 cm-1, J2 = -0.44 cm-1 and J1 = 5.9 cm-1, J2 = 2.6 cm-1 for SD/Ni5a and SD/Ni4a, respectively. Besides, the photocurrent signals were observed and they reached the maximum very quickly for these three nickel(ii) clusters and then their current intensities remained almost constant, which provide a possibility to be used for light-harvesting and photo-related catalysis.
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