Construction of Ideal One-Dimensional Spin Chains by Topochemical Dehydration/Rehydration Route

Abstract

One-dimensional (1D) Heisenberg antiferromagnets are of great interest due to their intriguing quantum phenomena. However, the experimental realization of such systems with large spin S remains challenging because even weak interchain interactions induce long-range ordering. In this study, we present an ideal 1D S = 5/2 spin chain antiferromagnet achieved through a multistep topochemical route involving dehydration and rehydration. By desorbing three water molecules from (2,2′-bpy)-FeF 3 (H 2 O)•2H 2 O (2,2′-bpy = 2,2′-bipyridyl) at 150 °C and then intercalating two water molecules at room temperature (giving (2,2′-bpy)FeF 3 •2H 2 O 1), the initially isolated FeF 3 ON 2 octahedra combine to form corner-sharing FeF 4 N 2 octahedral chains, which are effectively separated by organic and added water molecules. Mossbauer spectroscopy reveals significant dynamical fluctuations down to 2.7 K, despite the presence of strong intrachain interactions. Moreover, results from electron spin resonance (ESR) and heat capacity measurements indicate the absence of longrange order down to 0.5 K. This controlled topochemical dehydration/rehydration approach is further extended to (2,2′-bpy)CrF 3 • 2H 2 O with S = 3/2 1D chains, thus opening the possibility of obtaining other low-dimensional spin lattices.