The synthesis, structural characterization, and magnetic properties of four related heterometallic complexes with formulas [Dy(III)2Co(II)(C7H5O2)8]·6H2O (1), [Dy(III)2Ni(II)(C7H5O2)8]·(C7H6O2)2 (2), Tb(III)2Co(II)(C7H5O2)8 (3), and Dy(III)2Cd(II)(C7H5O2)8 (4) were reported. Each of complexes has a perfectly linear arrangement of the metal ions with two terminal Ln(III) (Ln(III) = Dy(III), Tb(III)) ions and one central M(II) (M(II) = Co(II), Ni(II), Cd(II)) ion. It was found that 1-3 displayed obvious magnetic interactions between the spin carriers according to the direct current (dc) susceptibility measurements. Alternating current (ac) magnetic susceptibility measurements indicate that complexes 1-4 all exhibit single-molecule magnet (SMM) behavior, while the replacement of the diamagnetic Cd(II) by paramagnetic ions leads to a significant slowing of the relaxation thanks to the magnetic interactions between 3d and 4f ions, resulting in higher relaxation barrier for complexes 1 and 2. Moreover, both Dy2Co and Dy2Ni compounds exhibit dual relaxation pathways that may originate from the single ion behavior of individual Dy(III) ions and the coupling between Dy(III) and Co(II)/Ni(II) ions, respectively, which can be taken as the feature of 3d-4f SMMs. The Ueff for 1 of 127 K is a relatively high value among the reported 3d-4f SMMs. The results demonstrate that the magnetic coupling between 3d and 4f ions is crucial to optimize SMM parameters. The synthetic approach illustrated in this work represents an efficient route to design nd-4f based SMMs via incorporating suitable paramagnetic 3d and even 4d and 5d ions into the d-f system.

The reaction of Mn(OAc)2·4H2O and Ln(NO3)3·6H2O with N-(2-aminopropyl)-2-hydroxybenzamide and salicylic aldehyde in methanol/methylene dichloride produces yellow crystals of Ln2Mn(C7H5O2)8 (Ln = Gd (), Tb (), Dy (), Ho () and Er ()), in the presence of triethylamine. Three metal ions are connected by six μ2-phenolate oxygen atoms of six salicylic aldehyde ligands, resulting in perfect linear [Ln(III)-Mn(II)-Ln(III)] structures. Magnetic studies of these complexes have been performed and AC susceptibility measurements show the presence of a temperature-dependent out-of-phase ac signal for complexes and indicating single-molecule magnet (SMM) behavior. The Dy(III)2Mn(II) compound shows double relaxation pathways which may originate from the single ion behavior of individual Dy(III) ions and the weak coupling between Dy(III) and Mn(II) ions, respectively. The Ueff of 92.4(2) K is a relatively high value among 3d-4f SMMs. Moreover, complexes and represent the first linear Mn-Ln SMMs containing only divalent manganese ions as far as we know. The result suggests the positive effects of magnetic coupling to enhance their SMM behavior, presenting a promising strategy for constructing efficient heterometallic SMMs.